Sweet Summer Slumber
by stfuSPARKS
Summary: She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life. AU/sasusaku
1. The Summer Sends Its Love

**A/N: Hey there everyone! I was reading back on this fanfic, six years after I first published it- and I was so terribly embarrassed at my writing that I just had to rewrite ALL of it. So if you've read it in the past, I suggest you read it again, because I expanded the story much more! And if you haven't read it already, THANK GOD because I'd just dying of shame. So enjoy! (1/6/12)**

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**SWEET SUMMER SLUMBER**

**stfuSPARKS **

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_She was born to create trouble, thus landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

The office was deadly quiet, save for the sound of a pen being nervously clicked over and over again. With his other free hand, the bald headed man continuously dabbed at his sweaty forehead with a dark red handkerchief, his eyes darting from side to side as he looked at everything save for his very source of anxiety standing right before him. His office felt smaller than usual today- he had never felt so suffocated in his own lair.

"Haruno Sakura, you have been called into my office today to be informed that you will be immediately expelled from this school due to reported violence and disrespect within the school rules."

He winced. He hadn't meant for his voice to come out so shakily- he was the principal, the very pillar of his school, the man in charge for god's sake! He had tried to make his voice sound convincingly strong and powerful; yet he couldn't help but feel vulnerable before the petite girl standing so innocuously in front of his desk.

"Right." Her answer was short and curt, her tone devoid of any amusement or interest. He had to grab a hold of himself to stop his body from shuddering- his mind briefly wandered as he tried to contemplate how a high school girl could make his nerves turn into jelly. Her light, smooth voice pulled him out of his trance as she spoke once more. "Someone reported me?"

"Indeed." The principal answered, avoiding her intent gaze upon him as he pretended to be interested in a couple of stray papers scattered around his desk. "I see... you have been expelled from six different schools already. I am truly sorry, I was hoping that we would be the one to be able to help you." He usually hated delivering bad news to his students because he hated to see their crestfallen expressions- but in this case, he hated to be the one to break the news simply because this was no ordinary student standing in his office.

She shrugged her small shoulders, her face betraying no particular emotion. "Seven including this one, to be honest. I wasn't aware that you were so...informed on all your students."

He felt the dread wash over him as he realized that he would now have to deliver the bad news that was sure to infuriate the girl. He uncrossed his legs and wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, wishing that he had a stronger hold on himself than he did- he hated this feeling of being emasculated, especially when he was sitting in a seat of power.

"Along with your removal from this school, you will be required to take a mandatory two-month summer course at Konohagakure Academy, starting in early June." He blurted out, wishing he could disappear on the spot as soon as the words left his mouth. Her impassive face finally broke as an elegant pink eyebrow slightly twitched- this time he could not stop himself from shuddering. At that moment, he just wanted to quit his job, go home and curl up underneath his covers. He could've sworn her bright emerald orbs had flashed a shade of dark green as they slowly narrowed.

"...what?" Her voice was menacingly low this time.

The elderly man swore under his breath, thinking that this was absolutely not what he had imagined when he had taken up this job as school principal. He had encountered his fair share of troubled students throughout his career, but never had he met such a threatening, hopeless case.

"You're going to a boarding school for the summer." He summarized in a small voice, his eyes darting towards his office phone as he wondered if he would need its use. He was momentarily tempted to call for help when he remembered that he was the man of this school as he straightened up, squaring his shoulders. He would not let his persona be undermined by a student. He pretended to ignore her as her small and delicate looking hands curled up into a fist, a dangerous look overcoming her face.

"You have expelled me; therefore you have no business left with me anymore." She answered icily, her sharp tone piercing. "You have no right."

"On the contrary, Haruno-san. We have recieved your mother's consent." He tried to make his voice convincing, and winced as it came out disgustingly smug instead. "As an educational facility of this city, we are obligated to take responsibility for our students. Your mother is very concerned, Haruno-san- she was quite eager to agree." As he said these words, he was quite sure she had let out a snarl- but chose to ignore this as well, for his own well being.

"She's my step-mother," She spat out with as much vile she could muster. The principal visibly shrunk back, all the thoughts about manning up disappearing out the window.

"I'm sure y-your father will agree as well. Konohagakure is a school for the disciplined. I'm sure you'll pick up something along the way." He dabbed at his forehead once again, not able to prevent the stutter that took over his words. He secretely thought that it was far too late for a girl like her to learn anything about discipline- but he decided to keep his opinions to himself.

"Discipline my ass." She shot back crudely, and the old man winced at her vulgarity.

He pretended to be extremely interested in his papers once again. "It's too late Haruno-san," He finally spoke, after choosing his words carefully. "We have already sent in your application and enrolled your name. Your plane flight details have been handed to your parents, and they will take care of the rest for you. If you choose not to attend, there will be bigger consequences in the future." He replied, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. "If you have no more questions, you may leave my office." He made it sound like an option, but in his head he was pleading for her to leave immediately.

She looked like she was about to explode for a moment, as a death glare overcame her face. Then, her expression suddenly changed, as she eyed him mischeviously with a small smirk hanging on her plump lips.

"Before I leave," She started, quietly cracking her knuckles behind her back, "I would like to show you why you do not screw me over."

He wondered why on earth he had agreed to accept her into his school merely a month ago. The fact that she had been expelled by six different school beforehand should have been enough of a warning for him- no, it was more like a big fat neon red sign with the word NO stamped across.

Haruno Sakura.

He was definitely getting _way _too old for this.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**The Summer Sends Its Love**

"_The summer sends its love to you,_

_The same as every year…_

_But this year I will send mine too,_

_And wish that you were here."_

If there was one thing that the seventeen year old Haruno Sakura hated doing, it was waiting.

She impatiently shifted around in her small, uncomfortable airplane seat, briefly wondering why on earth she had decided to wear a pair of tight jeans for a long flight. She frowned- if they were going to send her far away for some ridiculous summer course in some random academy, the least they could have done was to send her away in first class or something. The plane hadn't even departed- hell, all the passengers hadn't even boarded the plane yet, and she was already sighed, giving up on making herself more comfortable, shoulders sagging as she sank down into her small seat. At least it was a window seat, she thought to herself with amusement. She entertained herself with the thought that the poor principal of her latest school would have to spend much of his time and money on repairs on his office, a smirk gracing her lips.

"Excuse me, is this yours?"

A cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts, accompanied by the sounds of quiet whimpers. Sakura looked up to see a boy with messy, unkept brown hair, his sharp brown eyes observing her carefully as he held up the handbag she had thoughtlessly put in the seat next to hers. Her eyes immediately were drawn to the strange red markings on his cheekbones (were those _tattoos?_) and canine teeth peeking out of his mischevious grin. It took her a second to realize that he probably had to sit in the seat next to hers.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." Sakura muttered the apology under her breath, taking the handbag from him. "I didn't think anyone would be sitting in that seat."

"No problem really," The brunette replied, shrugging his shoulders, and grinned again as he took his seat, She did a double-take as the unusually large handbag in his arms _moved- _she briefly amused herself, thinking that this summer course hadn't even started and she was already going insane.

His eyes followed her wide, curious gaze towards the object in his lap. "Oh yeah," He said, his eyes lightening up. "No need to worry, Akamaru usually gets a bit restless pretty easily- it's his first time on an airplane." He gave the bag a shake, and this time was answered with a muffled bark.

"Can I see him?" Sakura asked automatically, her expression brightening up. She wasn't usually this friendly with strangers, but she couldn't help herself this time around- she had a natural affinity for all animals, especially dogs. He shrugged his shoulders, looking more than pleased to show off his partner.

"Only if you can handle him," He warned, as he opened his handbag. She was immediately attacked by a white bundle, letting out a delighted gasp of surprise as the object in her hands was determined to lick her face clean. "Whoah, down Akamaru! Sorry, I think he's a bit excited." The boy apologized, and she shook her head in response, her grin growing even wider as the pup let out another bark. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, by the way." He added, taking the opportunity to make a new friend to entertain him during the long flight. She let out another laugh as Akamaru licked her face once again.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." She finally answered, handing Akamaru back to his rightful owner. "Nice to meet you," She hastily added, trying to remember her manners for a boy who had graciously let her mandhandle his puppy on their first encounter.

"So what's a pretty lady like you doing travelling alone to a boring city like Leaf?" He flirtaciously asked, a smug look decorating his face as he put Akamaru back in the bag before any of the other passengers around them could complain. "Leaf isn't exactly tourist-attraction material, y'know?" She inwardly rolled her eyes, getting an exact idea of what kind of boy she was dealing with. So typical, she thought to herself, but at the same time, a bit of company wouldn't hurt, and Kiba really did seem like a genuinely nice guy.

Her pretty face scrunched up into a frown as she remembered why exactly she was on this plane. "I'm off to summer school," She answered disdainfully. "As if being expelled for the seventh time wasn't enough." She muttered the last part to herself.

"Really? I'm being sent to summer school as well, because of bad conduct or something like that." He answered with a light laugh. "I wasn't expelled though. I mean, I would've been expelled but I was given another chance, only if I agreed to take this stupid summer course. If it was up to me, I would totally just skip it and be expelled, but my mom was downright angry, and man, you do _not_ want to ever see my mom mad." He chuckled as she smiled amusedly. "Going to some school called Konohagakure... what kind of academy has a lame name like that?" He snorted.

Her eyes lit up as she heard the familiar name. "Konohagakure? No way, that's where I'm going!" She exclaimed, delighted at the coincidence.

"You kidding?" Kiba asked, an incredulous look in his eyes. She looked just as surprised as he did, as they both burst out laughing. "I guess there would be no other reason for two good lookin' teenagers like us to go in a dump like Leaf." He added, looking quite pleased.

The two of them didn't even notice the plane depart, both too absorbed in the delight of having found a new friend so early on in their journey for the summer.

* * *

"So... a welcoming committee of employees is supposed to meet us here?" Kiba asked, nervously looking around at his surroundings. Sakura chuckled at her new friend's antics- she had found out that he had a fear of new places, much like his fellow canine companion. They both did not like the sensory deprivation that came with going to unknown, new locations.

"Well, it's an academy for discipline right? I doubt they would leave a bunch of troubled teenagers alone in an airport for long," She said sarcastically, trying to calm his nerves.

He glanced at her, realizing that Sakura had not been quite informed about their new home for the next two months. "Sakura-chan, Konohagakure isn't really for troubled kids, don't you know?" His statement was met with an extremely confused look. "I mean yeah, troubled kids go there- but it's not an academy specifically made to reform troubled kids. It's a prestigious academy where only really disciplined and rich kids go to, and parents send their children there, hoping that they'll learn something from the super genius students that go there already." His nose wrinkled in disgust as he said the last part.

"So we're stuck with snobby rich kids for the rest of summer?" She asked, her face looking unamused. "That's my idea of fun right there."

"Hey do you think they're all going to Konoha?" Kiba quickly changed the subject, sensing her mood shift. She followed Kiba's gaze towards the group of teenagers standing a bit farther apart- kids with handbags that were so full of textbooks and other studying materials that they were unable to close. Sakura was quite disgusted at how dead they looked, how their eyes held no life at all.

Leading the group was possibly the most anal looking boy Sakura had ever seen. His unnerving pearl white eyes were blankly staring at something- Sakura didn't quite know what. His chocolate brown hair would have been beautiful if it wasn't tied up into a neat ponytail, and his plain outfit simply screamed out "Hello, I don't know what fun is" to the rest of the world. Her eyes swept over the rest of the boys standing behind him, as she noticed several bizarre people, such as a boy with rebellious, spiky hair which looked like a pineapple in the way it was currently tied in, another boy covered with a high neck raincoat despite the fact that it was summer, and red head boy with an extremely grim expression as a group of giggling girls followed his every move.

That was just plain weird.

"They scare me." Sakura whispered to Kiba, pointing towards the girls who immediately glared at her all at once. Kiba quietly nodded in agreement as he purposely looked in the other direction.

"Oh look, new trash."

Emerald met white as Sakura'e gaze incredulously snapped onto the boy who had just spoken. The boy who stood at the front of the group glared at the unusual pair standing a few feet away from him. His glare was met back with a fiercer one as Sakura chose not to budge, returning his sentiment full-heartedly. "I don't understand why trash like you have to come ruin our academy's reputation every year. Your lot brings nothing but trouble." He continued, not once taking his gaze off of her. She gritted her teeth in anger, and it took approximately one second for her to decide that this boy standing across from her was decidedly _dead_.

Kiba stepped out, his canine teeth flashing dangerously as he snarled. "Is that how you treat girls in this stupid place?"

"I wouldn't even call that a girl." The white eyed boy answered, not even bothering to look at the other boy. "Nothing else but trash."

Sakura was a second away from punching the boy in the face, when Kiba sighed, grabbing her arm and leading her away. "Not now, Sakura-chan." He warned her. "Just ignore him for now. People like that think they're so much better than us- prove that you're the better person and just walk away from it." She sighed in frustration, tempted to ignore her newfound friend's advice. She took a deep shaky breath- patience had never been her strong point, but Kiba's grip on her was painfully strong and deep down she knew he was right. She would just give into their satisfaction by charging at the rude boy.

Her thoughts flew out the window when the most beautiful man she had evern laid her eyes upon walked in front of her line of sight.

* * *

"Naruto you dobe, slow down."

Uchiha Sasuke was quite frankly tired of warning his hyperactive 'friend' for what felt like the thirtieth time that day. The blond boy next to him jumped up and down, running in circles as Sasuke proceeded to look even more irritated than before. The four hours spent on the plane had felt more like three weeks with Uzumaki Naruto sitting next to him- sometimes he wished that the blonde hadn't taken it upon himself to make Sasuke his best friend. Naruto had all the best intentions, but sometimes Sasuke just wished that the boy knew when to draw the line.

"Ne Sasuke-bastard, I can't believe we're actually teachers now." Naruto sniggered at his friend, who just scowled in response. "I mean, we're not really proper teachers, because we're just teaching summer courses and not a real school... well I guess it _is_ a real school, just that we're just here for the summer courses and we'll be teaching kids. Does that make us real teachers? Or just part-time teachers? Or trainee teachers? Or do you think..."

"Naruto, shut up."

Naruto listened to his friend as he abruptly shut his mouth for a minute, before he opened it again, much to Sasuke's chagrin.

"Why are you working anyways? It's not like you need the money, not with all that family fortune you have."

Sasuke sighed, mentally giving up on the thought of making Naruto shut up. "Father thought it would be a good learning experience." Sasuke answered, shrugging his shoulders. "And I agree. I won't live my life depending on my family's wealth." He briefly thought of his father, who had never been satisfied enough, proud enough of his youngest son. He pushed the thoughts out of his head as he realized Naruto hadn't been listening to his answer, the blonde's gaze fixated upon a girl who was quietly arguing with a brunette boy.

"Hey do you think her hair is natural?" Naruto voiced his thoughts, as Sasuke's gaze shifted to the unusual shade of pale cotton candy pink that decorated her head. She certainly did not look like an everday person- and her pink hair was only the beginning of it. Her eyes were a curiously breathtaking shade of green, one he had never seen on a person before. He glanced at her porcelain-like face one more time before averting his attention elsewhere.

"Not that I really care, but yes Naruto, despite it's unusual hue it looks natural." Sasuke answered his friend's question, hoping that he would shut up now.

"I thought so!" Naruto exclaimed giddily. "Ne, she's really pretty isn't she?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, starting to lose his patience. "You might want to wipe that drool off your face, dobe." He answered dryly.

"Hey, just because you're emotionally frigid doesn't mean I don't get to make up for it." Naruto complained. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto's statement, and Naruto sighed exasperatedly, as if his friend was the most frustrating person in the world. "Well everyone knows you haven't had a girlfriend all your life," Naruto explained, Sasuke's glare growing deeper with every word. "And don't act like you're not hot. Wait, that sounded totally wrong- I meant it as in don't act like you don't know that every single female in thie world thinks you're hot. I don't think you're hot, that's gross."

"Just because I never tell you anything doesn't mean that I am not in a relationship." Sasuke shot back, his irritation creeping into his voice. His words were met with Naruto's horrified gaze.

"Don't tell me you're in a relationship." Naruto whispered, his cerulean blue eyes growing bigger by the second. When Sasuke didn't answer him, Naruto looked (if possible) even more terrified. "Oh my god, you ARE in a relationship. Uchiha Sasuke is in a relationship."

"Shut up dobe, so what if I am?" Sasuke snapped, his patience starting to run thin.

"What's her name? How did you meet her? What does she look like?" Naruto immediately bombarded him with questions- Sasuke was reminded of why he had been hiding this from the blonde for so long. "And most importantly," Naruto added, "HOW LONG as this been going behind my back?"

Sasuke was now wishing he had never told Naruto about his summer job. Then, the blonde would have never tagged along.

"The most important questions are always the ones concerning you, aren't they?" Sasuke replied, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. He could feel a mild headache starting to settle upon him. "Her name is Akane, I met her through my father's masquerade ball for his fiftieth birthday. What she looks like physically is none of your concern. We have been seeing each other for a month now."

"The masquerade ball you didn't invite me to?" Naruto asked incredulously. "And a MONTH?" He shrieked, as Sasuke's words finally settled in. Sasuke winced as Naruto's loud voice earned a few curious stares from people passing by. Sasuke unconsciously noted that the pink haired girl and her friend were also curiously staring at them now.

If Sasuke had been any other person, he probably would have burst into tears after dealing with Naruto for so long. But he was an Uchiha, and Uchihas definitely did _not_ cry. And honestly, Sasuke had dealt with Naruto for so long, that he knew exactly how to steer Naruto's attention elsewhere when their conversations took a turn towards a subject Sasuke was uncomfortable with.

"Naruto, I think the welcoming committee is here." Sasuke said nonchalantly, and just as he had predicted, the blonde immediately whirled around in excitement.

This was the start of a very long summer, Sasuke thought to himself tiredly as Naruto ran off without him, leaving his bags for his raven haired friend to pick up.

* * *

"Ugh, looks like it's time for us to go." Sakura said in disgust, as she observed the group of teenagers from before all crowding around a tall gray haired man who was holding up a paper sign with the word KONOHAGAKURE clearly printed on it. She briefly wondered if everyone at this so-called prestigious academy was insane. The lower half of the man's face was covered with a strange mask, his wild gray hair hiding one of his eyes. She was slightly disturbed at the thought of such a shady character being one of the supervisors for her summer course, but then she reminded herself that she wasn't exactly one of the normal ones either.

"Hello, I am Hatake Kakashi and I am in charge of your safe arrival to Konohagakure for our summer program. I will require for you to tell me your names, and then you can peacefully hop onto the bus waiting for us outside." The man cheerfully greeted them, and there was a very slight tone of sarcasm underneath all the fake cheeriness. Somehow, Sakura could deduct that the man wasn't exactly overly enthusiastic about his job here.

"Inuzuka Kiba and Haruno Sakura," Kiba said for the both of them. Kakashi's eyebrow raised humorously as he heard Sakura's name.

"Would I sound like everyone else if I told you that your name was-"

"Fitting, I know." Sakura answered rolling her eyes. Kakashi's lone visible eye crinkled up in amusement. "I-"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto." A low voice rudely interrupted her before she could get her sentence out. Sakura opened her mouth to insult the man who had cut her off when she set her eyes upon the gorgeous man who had walked by her earlier. All the words that were at the tip of her tongue disappeared for a moment before she swallowed heavily, shutting her mouth.

"I wonder if they were expelled like you." Kiba whispered into her ears. "They look like they're in their early twenties, don't you think? A bit too old to be attending an academy for high schoolers if you ask me." He abruptly shut up when the raven haired man turned his gaze to the canine boy, his eyes piercing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing- pulled back? Uchiha Sasuke had graduated high school two years earlier than the rest- he had definitely not been pulled back a couple years. He briefly wondered if he really did look like a student who had failed at several years, before Kakashi interrupted his thoughts.

"Now, now Inuzuka-kun, is that any way to talk to one of your teachers for this summer's course?" Kakashi inquired, nodding towards Sasuke and Naruto. "Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san, I would like to welcome you to the city of Leaf. I look forward to teach with you this summer."

"Hn," Sasuke answered, ignoring Kiba's guilty look as Naruto enthusiastically shook the gray-haired man's hand.

"Hey, you're that cute pink-haired girl! I didn't know you were attending Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed delightedly. "I guess I'll be seeing you around alot huh?"

"Dobe, she's going to be your student. Haven't you learned that student-teacher relationships are prohibited in all educational facilities?" Sasuke warned his friend, aware that their future supervisor, Kakashi, was listening to their conversation. "Just take your job seriously for once."

"Uchiha."

A familiar voice interrupted their conversation before Sakura could even answer. The group looked up to face the white eyed boy from before, who was now glaring at the handsome raven-haired boy.

"Hyuuga," Sasuke replied coldly.

"I always knew that I'd find you working a lowly job like this." The Hyuuga boy's tone was menacing. The two boys obviously had some sort of past together, and it wasn't good. Naruto looked extremely nervous as his baby blue eyes darted back and forth between the two men, ready to jump in if a brawl started.

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer back when the petite pink haired girl stepped out in front of the Hyuuga. She looked so small and fragile compared to the white-eyed boy's tall and atheltic figure, but that didn't seem to affect her in the least. "Excuse me smartass, if you think he's taking up a lowly job, why are you attending the school he's going to be teaching in?" She asked with dislike lacing her words. The boy was a bit too pompous for her patience to endure.

"Did anyone ask you?" The Hyuuga boy looked down at the girl who was more than a head shorter than him. "I don't recall asking a bimbo girl who only cares about her looks. Your hair color is pathetic by the way, couldn't you choose a better color to dye your hair?"

Now if there was another thing that Sakura detested, it was people thinking that her hair was dyed.

"Listen up she-man, if you're going to be attending Konoha with me, you better remove that stick that seems to be cemented up your ass, or I promise you these next eight weeks won't be very pleasant." She snapped, her eyes narrowing threateningly. "And my hair is naturally pink. Go brush your hair or something, or better- drown yourself in a toilet." She was on a roll now, clearly irritated. His face didn't waver at all, and really, she should have stopped there, but who was she kidding? There was no stopping herself once she started. "And what right do you have to insult other people about their hair? I mean look at yours, it's prettier than any other hair I've ever seen, and trust me, it isn't a compliment. And your eyes! Are those contacts or are those real? If they're real, you've got some messed up genes, and if they're fake, then you have one sad life."

The look he was giving her was frightening now, but she didn't care. She felt satisfied with herself now.

"We have no time for childish bickering." Sasuke commented, looking highly disinterested in the argument that was taking place in front of him. "And please, I do not need your help in defending myself." His reply was cold and straight to the point, directed at Sakura. "And if you don't mind, we are ready to go ride the bus to Konoha." Her bright green eyes widened, and a hurt look momentarily flashed across her face before she regained her composure. She opened her mouth, ready to run her mouth once again, when Kiba gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, just let it go." Kiba whispered into her ear, and he felt her relax a little under his touch.

"You're right." She took a deep breath, shooting one last glare towards both the two men as she grabbed her suitcases. "They're not worth it." Her voice was calm and composed, but Kiba could sense the anger boiling underneath her words. Kiba gathered his things and together, they headed towards the bus that had pulled up in front of them.

The bus ride was long and quiet, and Sakura couldn't help but feel unnerved at how much Uchiha Sasuke's words had affected her.

* * *

Sakura was awakened by Kakashi's voice loudly calling "We're here!" as the bus slowly came to a stop. She looked around in surprise, wondering when she had dozed off, and found Kiba lightly snoring next to her. She shook him awake, rubbing her eyes as she took a good look at the campus- now she could understand why Konoha was known as a prestigious academy. The campus was breathtakingly beautiful. "You will be immediately escorted to your dormitories- each dormitory has the capacity of holding three people. If there is anyone you would like to be roomed with, please request it. If not, we will automatically assign you." Kakashi announced, and Sakura and Kiba immediately shot each other knowing looks.

"Do I even have to ask?" Kiba asked with a dashing grin. "Wouldn't want to end up with one of those snobs over there." He jabbed his thumb towards the Hyuuga's direction. She nodded happily, extremely relieved that she had made a friend on the plane ride. She didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't known anyone and had ended up rooming with one of the snob kids. "But we need a third person. We either choose one or Kakashi-sensei assigns us a random person."

Sakura looked around, observing people running all over the place, trying to find their own groups of people to room with. "We need to find someone who isn't a complete asshole." She muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as they landed on the Hyuuga boy. She turned away in disgust, turning her attention to other people. She was about to give up when she spotted lone guy standing gainst the wall. He looked out of place amongst all the people who were frantically trying to make friends at the last minute, and she knew she had found their third member.

She remembered seeing him at the airport earlier- he was the one who had the unusual hair (and she knew it was ironic for her to think it). She giggled to herself quietly as she realized his spiky brown hair tied up into a high ponytail resembled a pineapple. He was quiet, but she could see his almond brown eyes filled with intellect as he quietly analyzed each person who passed by him.

"Hey!" She brightly greeted, holding out her hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura, and this is Kiba." Kiba gave him a sheepish grin. "We're planning on rooming together but we're missing a third person- and you seem pretty alright. We were wondering if you wanted to room with us... and I promise we aren't weird people. We're actually trying to avoid weird people."

"Nara Shikamaru," The boy introduced himself with a nod, shaking her outstretched hand. "I don't mind. I just don't want anything troublesome."

"Kakashi-sensei, we're rooming together!" Kiba announced loudly, raising one of his hands so he could catch the gray haired man's attention. "Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba and uh... Nara...?"

"Shikamaru," The other boy finished his sentence for him.

Kakashi nodded, scribbling a few things down onto his clipboard as he handed them a key. "Room 103," He said, shooting them a wary look. "Listen, this whole thing about girls and boys rooming together- it's a new system we implemented this year, and I don't want any trouble. First sign of trouble and I reassign each and every one of you."

"No trouble," Kiba promised, and Kakashi swore he saw an evil glint in Kiba's eye as the three of them disappeared behind the corner.

He sighed, realizing that this summer was going to extremely long.

* * *

Sakura had underestimated the size of the campus.

It took them twenty minutes to find their room- twenty minutes that felt like _hours_ to Sakura. Of course, their journey had not been quiet at all.

("Kiba-baka you got us lost again! I told you we were supposed to turn right, not left!")

("Sakura-chaaan that hurt…")

("How troublesome…")

Sakura felt extremely relieved when they finally got the door open- and was pleased to see that their dorm was not bad at all. It was like a mini apartment- a joined living room and kitchen, one bathroom and a quite spacious bedroom with three comfortable beds. "Fancy," she commented, and Akamaru let out a bark of approval as Kiba finally let him out of his bag. Shikamaru immediately sat down on the couch, closing his eyes but not quite asleep.

"I've seen better," Kiba huffed, earning an exasperated sigh from Shikamaru. He had known the canine boy for roughly half an hour, yet he knew exactly what kind of person Kiba was- a stubborn boy who had a hard time admitting that anything was better than what he owned. Sakura giggled, taking a seat on the couch next to Shikamaru.

"We better start unpacking," Sakura said, looking around. "I didn't know we were sharing a room. I thought we'd each have our own bedroom." She looked a bit disappointed.

Shikamaru lazily opened an eye to look at her. "The school is prestigious, not filthy rich." He commented, as Kiba snorted in response. "This campus isn't nearly big enough to fit a dorm with three bedrooms each." Kiba commented something that sounded like 'nerd' under his breath, as he opened his suitcase and threw his clothes into the empty dresser.

"Kiba, if we're going to be roommates, you're gonna have to be neater than that." Sakura reprimanded, giving him a disapproving look as he sheepishly grinned at her. "I will definitely not be cleaning after you." Kiba sighed as he pulled his clothes back out again, messily folding them before setting them back into the dresser. It didn't look much neater, but Sakura figured that it was the best he could do for now. She would teach him to fold clothes over time. She smiled fondly at the boy and ruffled his hair on her way to her own suitcase.

"You two sound like you're pretty good friends," Shikamaru commented, hearing their bickering.

"We only met today," Kiba said, shrugging his shoulders. "It feels like we've been friends for ages doesn't it?" The pink eyed girl nodded with a soft smile.

Coming into this experience, Sakura had not been looking forward to it all. She hadn't planned on making any friends, and had wanted to spend the summer as unnoticed as possible but she was beginning to realize that it wasn't going to be easy. She found herself already growing attached to her new friend, and despite her unpleasant encounters so far, she was still looking forward to the rest of the summer. She had gone through school for so long on her own that she had almost forgotten what it was like not being alone. She hadn't minded much at the time, but now that she finally had company, she realized that it wasn't so bad at all. She was lost in her thoughts when a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Oh hey Kakashi-sensei," She greeted, opening the door. The man's eye crinkled upwards into a hidden smile in response.

"Hope you're settling in well. We'll be having a welcoming party tonight, if you're interested. It starts at seven in the main hall," Kakashi said, and before Sakura could give any kind of answer, he walked away. She looked after him with a curious gaze before shutting the door behind her with a shrug.

"Hey guys, there's a welcoming party tonight!" She called over her shoulder as she took a look inside their bathroom. "Are you guys gonna go?"

Kiba was about to answer that yes, of course he was going to go, when something in Sakura's almost emptied suitcase caught his eye. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't looking as he quickly pulled out the simple binder and opened it, only to see many newspaper clippings hastily glued onto pieces of paper. "Hey Shikamaru," He whispered, and the said boy gave him a curious look before joining him. "What do you think these are?"

Shikamaru took a close look at the newspaper clippings, news that had apparently made the headlines in the past. Curiously, all of the clippings had a common theme: the Akatsuki.

"Kiba," Shikamaru solemly said, turning towards his new friend. "I think there's something Sakura isn't telling us."

"What are you guys looking at?" Sakura curiously asked, walking up behind them. Her face froze as she looked at the object of interest in their hands. "Oh," She said, her voice taking on a completely different tone.

Kiba's face fell as he finally added two plus two and realized what they were dealing with.


	2. A Beautiful Lie

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

Kiba's face fell as he finally added two plus two and realized what they were dealing with.

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Beautiful Lie**

"_It's time to forget about the past,_

_To wash away what happened last, _

_Hide behind an empty mask, _

_Don't ask too much, just say…_

'_Cause this is just a game."_

_._

_._

_._

Kiba was ready to start hyperventilating at any moment now. His heart was racing as a million thoughts went through his head- and unsuccessfully tried to calm himself down as he thought of all the information he had just pieced together. He glanced over at his new male roommate, who had probably realized everything the moment he set his eyes upon the binder in their hands- but his expression was unreadable, save for a single raised eyebrow.

He had heard of the name Akatsuki before, and it definitely wasn't tied to anything good. And the clippings weren't exactly good news either. It was all gang-related- things he had only heard about, never witnessed. In all honesty, things that he did not _want_ to witness.

Sakura remained impassive for a minute, green orbs intently observing their faces. She opened her mouth once, and abruptly closed it again. "I... may have left out certain details." Her words were only met with more silence, in addition to a confused look from Kiba. The innocent girl who had seemed too small to defend herself back at the airport now seemed completely different. "I'm... from the Akatsuki. Each member is required to keep a binder recording each of our... accomplishments." She noticed the way Kiba was avoiding her eyes like they were death impersonated, and felt uncomfortable with the way his attitude towards her had suddenly changed within the last minute.

"The Akatsuki!" Kiba burst out, and she could almost see a lightbulb appear over his head. "It can't be! The... it's... a gang! It's dangerous! Sakura-chan, you're too small to be dangerous. Wha- it's- no!" Sakura briefly wondered if he was going to faint on the spot. "There must be a mistake here," He added, finally looking at her in the eyes. "There's no way-" And he stopped in the middle of his tracks, because everything was finally making sense. He knew he had been a troubled child, but not once had he imagined that _this_ was what she had meant when she meant 'troubled'.

"I may be a part of the Akatsuki but that doesn't make me a bloodthirsty killer you know," Sakura said a bit resentfully, rolling her eyes. This is why she had hidden her little secret from him- his reaction had been too predictable.

"Right," Kiba's voice came out high pitched, accompanied with a chuckle that sounded much more like a nervous schoolgirl's giggle. "Of course I know that, Sakura-chan." He averted his eyes over to the other boy once more, surprised to see that Shikamaru seemed nowhere near as disturbed as he was.

"So you personally know all the members?" Shikamaru finally spoke up, with a tone of interest lacing his voice. The Akatsuki had been one of the most infamous mysteries of their times- an extremely active but secretive organization that was always shrouded in mysterious circumstances.

Sakura hesitated before speaking. "Well, it's required for each member to be introduced to each other at least once... so I've talked to them, so I guess yeah." She said, gently taking the binder out of their hands. "But I'm not close to all of them. Hell, I've talked to some of them only once." Her hand slightly shook as she buried the binder underneath piles of clothes in the dresser.

"That would make sense," Shikamaru answered, and dropped the subject when she didn't give him an answer.

Kiba looked blankly out the window for a second before he spoke up. "Hey Sakura-chan, are you going to plan an ambush of Konoha or something? Is that why you're here?"

Sakura nearly choked on her own spit. Shikamaru sympathetically walked over and patted her on the back until she stopped coughing, before saying, "Kiba, stop asking stupid questions... troublesome." He sighed, closing his eyes in irritation. "Why did I ever agree to room with you two?"

"Because of her," Kiba said pointedly, his eyes stuck on the pink haired girl who finally let out a laugh.

And the subject was dropped there- the two boys had sensed her discomfort on talking about the subject, and they had both individually decided that it was better to end the conversation there.

.

* * *

.

The welcoming party turned out to akin to a typical school dance- music, non-alcoholic drinks, and a bunch of teenagers who were desperate to socialize with each other, in hopes of not spending the next two months alone.

"What did you expect?" Sakura asked the two boys who looked extremely unhappy to be there. Shikamaru looked simply unhappy, while Kiba was grumbling under his breath over and over again, looking extremely disappointed. Sakura didn't catch much of what he was saying, but it was enough to make her roll her eyes and grab both of their arms, dragging them towards their refreshment table.

"Shikamaru." Sakura was in the middle of getting drinks when a voice interrupted her out thoughts. The voice who called out to the intelligent boy was cool and collected, and unfortuntely Sakura knew that voice all too well. And she was definitely not too happy to hear it. The trio turned around to face the white-eyed boy whom Sakura had bickered with before. Her face scrunched up in distaste, as Kiba unconsciously put a hand on Sakura's shoulder to pull her back. "What are you doing in their company?"

"They're my roommates, Neji." Shikamaru replied shrugging, getting a drink for himself. The Hyuuga boy, supposedly called Neji, met Sakura's look of distaste with a displeased look of his own.

"Roommates? Is that so?" His words were curt and short. "I didn't take you as someone who is acquainted with such trash. You should know that it's people like them who ruin our reputation each year." Sakura's anger rose with each word that left his mouth. "We used to be a prestigious school for intelligent people, when families decided that their failiures would learn something from people like us." Sakura was about to open her mouth when he interrupted her once again. "I don't need to hear your opinion." His voice was cold. Piercing.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temples. "Neji, there's no need to start a fight here. It's our first day back." He shot an uneasy glance between the clear tension between the two very unique individuals.

"Right. Now why don't you introduce us to your lovely roommates?" His tone was clearly full of sarcasm, something that Kiba clearly did not appreciate as he let out a vicious snarl.

Kiba stepped out, shielding his two new friends behind him. "You're the trash here. You think you own this place just cause you're all high and mighty?" Kiba's face resembled nothing of the boyish teenager she had met a couple of hours ago- he was a man this time, one who looked viciously infuriated as his clenched fists shook by his sides. "Get out of my sight."

It all happened in a flash- none of them had seen it coming, but when it did, within seconds, Neji was holding Kiba by the neck, blank white eyes staring at him in the face. Sakura had seen enough of scenes like this to know that Hyuugi Neji was definitely not weak- Kiba wasn't weak either, but judging by their positions, Kiba was at a clear disadvantage. "You don't know me." Neji stated, his face devoid of any emotions. "I don't know you either, but I know that you are trash. You ruin the reputation that we have spent so long to earn. You don't deserve to be here as much as we do." His eyes were eerily unwavering. Kiba gasped for air, as oxygen slowly ran out of his lungs.

Neji never saw it coming. No one saw the petite pink haired girl move- but before anyone could stop her, her tiny little fist was on the Hyuuga's pale, porcelain like cheek, and he flew backwards, falling onto the table full of drinks. He spit out tiny droplets of blood as he regained his composure, rapidly getting on his feet. Sakura quickly helped Kiba up, quietly observing that her friend's neck was probably going to bruise pretty badly by tomorrow morning.

"You don't touch my friends."

Her voice was quiet, barely audible over the loud, pounding music, but Neji had heard it clear and through. It was ice cold, and somehow even calm, nothing like the cheerful voice she had used merely minutes ago with her friends, or the angry voice she had used at the airport.

"You dare touch me with your filthy hands?"

Hyuuga Neji was definitely a boy who's pride was not to be touched- no one expected what he did next. He raised his strong, muscular arm and slapped her across the face so fast that her pale pink locks whipped to the side with sheer force of the hit. Red marks blossomed across her cheeks like fireworks, and it looked beautiful for a second, before she lost her balance. She would have fallen back if it wasn't for a pair of strong arms that blocked her fall.

"Violence is not tolerated within school grounds." A deep voice stated. The teenagers all whirled around to face the taller man who was supporting Sakura as she stumbled to get back on her feet. She briefly thought that she wouldn't have been hit by Neji's hand if only she had been more alert- but she had not been expecting the Hyuuga boy to actually hit a girl. "And the last time I checked, hitting a female is not tolerated anywhere." When she regained her balance, she looked up to see Uchiha Sasuke standing behind her with an impassive face, his blond friend anxiously hovering behind him.

"Uchiha-sensei." She muttered under her breath, looking down at her feet.

"Stay out of this Uchiha." Neji stated, and did not step back as the Uchiha walked over to him, his face inches from the other boy.

Naruto finally found his moment to step up. "That's Uchiha-sensei for you." He scolded, shooting a concerned look towards Sakura. "You alright?" He asked, and she numbly nodded. "You should probably get some ice for that, it's swelling up pretty badly." He added, and turned to the white eyed boy who was now turning his attention to Naruto. "Sasuke and I are both teachers who are responsible for the students during this summer program. It's your first day here, so we'll let you off the hook this time, but for now you should both follow me to the infirmary to get your injuries treated. You too." He shot a concerned look towards Kiba.

Neji did not answer him but simply nodded before looking at the Uchiha one last time. He swiftly followed Naruto out of the main hall. Sakura helped Kiba gain his balance as they both followed him out as well. "I'll see you back at the dorm," Sakura told Shikamaru, who merely nodded in response as he made his way out of the main hall as well, taking the opoosite corridor towards his dorm room.

The trip to the Infirmary was short and filled with awkward silence, as Naruto tried to fill it up with useless conversation.

"Didn't think we would be escorting anyone to the Infirmary on the first day," He said chuckling, as he fished out a pair of keys from his pocket. "It's late, so our nurse isn't in. But feel comfortable to use whatever you need in here," He stopped for a minute before fumbling in the dark for the light switch. "Well here we go," He said, welcoming the students into the blindingly white room. "I have to go back and supervise the party, but I trust you enough to not kill each other in my absence. I'll set the keys down here, and I'll expect one of you to find me in the main hall to give me my keys back." He grinned sheepishly, before shutting the door behind him.

"Ow!" Kiba cried in pain as Sakura gently pressed her fingers against his bruised neck, rubbing cream over the ugly purple splotches that were blooming across his tan skin.

"Stay still," She scolded him, grabbing his shoulder with her free hand to stop him from moving. "Your neck is going to look ugly if I don't put this cream on you." He grimaced as she applied more pressure on his skin, but didn't say another word. He had seen Sakura hit the other boy, and definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of that little fist. He looked up at her when she was finished, and saw the ugly red blotches on her own cheek, marring her beauty.

"Take care of yourself, Sakura-chan." He commented, pushing back her pink strands of hair. "Your cheek is making you ugly." She whirled around to look at herself in the mirror and saw that he was right- she could clearly see Neji's handprint on the spot in which he had slapped her. She shrugged, and turned back to Kiba, handing him an icepack.

"I can take care of myself," She commented, and looked over her shoulder to face the boy who had physically attacked her.

The handsome boy was sitting on a small cot on the other side of the room, stubbornly refusing to treat himself and refusing to look at the other two occupants. His cheek was also turning into a dark shade of purple and black, similar to hers- but it was uglier and more swollen, Sakura smugly noted to herself. He had slapped her, yes, but she had landed a punch to his face that had to be at least ten times more painful. She sighed as Kiba nudged her towards the other boy. "You know," He whispered into her ear. "As much as I don't like him, you might want to go tend to grumpy over there. I have a feeling that people are going to be way too scared of you if you let that bruise turn into whatever monstrosity it's going to be if you don't treat it." She gave him an exasperated look, knowing that he was probably right. She had thrown her fair share of punches before, and she knew that half of his face was going to turn purple if she didn't treat it. She rummaged through the cupboards for some sort of cream that would stop the swelling and a big white band-aid.

"Let me take care of that for you." She said flatly, taking a seat next to Neji. He didn't answer her, staring straight on ahead, but didn't protest as she hesitantly brought a hand up to his cheek. "You're not going to hit me for touching you, are you?" She asked, slightly amused, and as she had expected, did not receive an answer in return. Kiba squirmed uncomfortably from where he was sitting, before standing up.

"Sakura-chan, I better get back to Shikamaru and tell him we're alright." Kiba said, glancing at the door. "I'll see you later okay?" And before she could answer him, he scrambled out of the room. Sakura really couldn't blame him for feeling so uncomfortable- and espcially for not wanting to be in the same room with the guy who had tried to strangle him less than an hour ago. Despite everything, Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that her friend had abandoned her so hastily.

There were no words exchanged between the remaining two people. He slightly winced as she smeared cream on his bruise. He seemed reluctant to show any signs of weakness in front of her, and she rolled her eyes at his attempt to protect his masculinity. She had noticed his discomfort- and slightly smiled. "Tell me where it hurts the most." She muttered, applying pressure to different places on his cheek.

"It doesn't." He quietly answered, but his voice no longer held the coldness it did before. He locked eyes with her for a second, before speaking again. "I'm sorry for slapping you earlier. The Uchiha was right, it is not proper for a man to hit a woman." He paused, before looking straight ahead again.

"I'm fine. I've had worse." She said as she shrugged, and grinned, before adding, "And I've given worse too. You should consider yourself lucky." She couldn't help the small, timid smile that overcame her face. She sighed to herself, giving up on her hostile attempts, deciding that she was going to be better off making friends this summer instead of enemies. "I..." She hesitated before speaking again. "I apologize as well. I was out of line." He nodded, but it was enough to tell her that she was forgiven. She made sure he was alright before applying the white bandage to his cheek. Stepping back, she quietly admired her handiwork. "I think we started off on the wrong foot." She started and held out her hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you."

He finally gave her a small smirk, and shook her hand. "Pleasure. Hyuuga Neji." He curtly answered. She was surprised when a blush slowly bloomed on her face, as her small hand came into contact with his own. It was hard for her to believe that this was the very same person who had been sizing her down at the airport and physically laying his hands on her at the party. And that's when she realized, Hyuuga Neji might have been an egoistical prick, but he was a boy who had grown up with manners. She didn't know anything about him, but at first glance she could tell that he must've been groomed up in a high-class family. He was extremely well-mannered when he wanted to be- and she was certain that she liked this version of Neji much better than the other one. "Here," she said swiftly, patting the white band-aid on his cheek. "It should heal over in the next couple of days."

"What about your injury?" He asked, and she blinked for a moment, realizing that she had completely forgotten about her own face. She brought up a hand to her cheek and brushed it off.

"I can treat myself." She said with a smile, and immediately grimaced as her fingers brushed over her delicate skin. He silently shook his head, and took the cream bottle from her.

It was a beginning of a strange, unexpected friendship that had started out the wrong way- but as they spent the rest of their night of the welcoming party chatting in the Infirmary, she couldn't ignore the strange bubbly feeling that was blossoming in her stomach.

.

* * *

.

It was funny how a slap and a punch could bloom into a whole different kind of relationship.

"Hey Neji!"

The following morning was full of students reunited, and Sakura lost no time in finding her newfound friend in the busy crowd. Neji looked up to see a pair of bright green eyes crinkling up into a smile as she spotted him. A very distinguishable pink head made its way over towards his taller frame as he stood still, waiting for her to reach him.

"Good morning, Sakura-san." His deep voice greeted her in return as she finally made her way to him. She couldn't help but show him a smile as she looked up at her friend. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, her button-like nose crinkling up. "But Kiba snores. It's annoying." Neji let out a chuckle, and Kiba, who had made his way towards them in the meanwhile, looked absolutely mortified. Sakura laughed at her friend's face as Kiba jokingly punched her on the arm. "I'm kidding, Kiba." She hastily said, and when the canine boy looked satisfied, carrying on to have a conversation with a very uninterested Shikamaru, she proceeded in adding "Not really. He really does snore." in a low whisper to the white-eyed boy next to her, who let out another chuckle. Kiba warily shot them another glance, and Sakura noted how the boy was still staring at Neji with distrust. She sighed, hoping that it would get better in time.

"How are they sorting classes?" Kiba asked, looking around nervously.

"Alphabetical order," The collected Hyuuga answered. "That's how they do it every year. By last name."

Kiba brightened up, grabbing Sakura's arm. "We're probably going to be sorted into the same class Sakura-chan! Haruno and Inuzuka, they're right next to each other in the alphabet ne?" Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "I guess that means Hyuuga is going to be with us too." He didn't look too happy. "C'mon Sakura-chan, they put up the lists. We should get to our class before we're late."

He dragged her over to the bulletin boards and slowly read over the list of names. "Here we are! Class 2B." Before she could answer, she was being dragged down the hall towards what she presumed to be their classroom. To Sakura's secret pleasure, Neji quietly followed them into the door.

Her face dropped as she saw the man sitting at the desk at the front of their room- Uchiha Sasuke.

"Uchiha-sensei." She muttered under her breath.

He snapped up to look at her as she said his name, and she froze as she swore she saw pure fury in his unreadable onyx eyes. And just as fast as it had appeared, it was gone, and he looked back down at the papers he was organizing at his desk. "I will say this only once-" He started to say, and Kiba looked up to look at the man. "I do not appreciate the use of my last name. You will call me by my first name." Sakura's eyebrows came together into a frown as she tried to remember his first name.

"What do you want her to call you then?" Neji retorted, not losing his cool. "Sasuke-_kun_? Like all those other girls who drool over you?"

"You will call me Sasuke-sensei." The Uchiha answered cooly, not looking up from his desk. "I would appreciate it if Hyuuga, however, did not call me at all." Sakura rolled her eyes at their childish antics. Kiba quietly tugged on Sakura's sleeve, pulling her over towards the back corner of the classroom, and they quietly took their seats as a bell rang loudly throughout the building.

"Good morning class." Sasuke started, finally looking up. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I will be your summer course instructor for the following two months. You will call me Sasuke-sensei. We will start by giving you assigned seats today-" A few students in the classroom groaned. "-And I will not tolerate rule-breakers in my classroom. I will also not tolerate disrespect towards me or any of your fellow classmates. No slacking off either. I will be expecting your full participation during this course."

"Anything else? Maybe a silver platter full of chocolate-chip cookies?" Kiba sarcastically whispered into Sakura's ear, and abruptly shut up when Sasuke's eyes snapped towards their direction. But after Kiba had spoken, the room burst into whispers and giggles. Girls coyly eyed their new teacher and the boys looked on, extremely unamused.

"Silence," Sasuke ordered, and the classroom immediately turned quiet again. "I will now take attendance and expect you to answer immediately as soon as your name is called. Any absences must be justified, and if they are not, you will be reported for further punishment." He kept on talking, but Sakura slowly tuned him out as she got lost into one of her biggest habits- daydreaming. She serenely looked out the window, pushing away locks of her hair away from her pale face as green eyes hazily looked into the beautiful sky. Her head was somewhere between random thoughts about Akamaru and the weekend when a nudge from Kiba interrupted her daydreaming. She realized Sasuke was now close to screaming her name.

"You saw me in the doorway." She commented, dryly. She had never been one to get along with teachers, and only because her teacher was goodlooking didn't mean she was going to start now. "Why bother?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "I thought I made myself clear, Haruno. I will not tolerate disrespect." She rolled her eyes. All the classroom's attention was on them now, a duel between teacher and student.

"This isn't me being disrespectful." She retorted, as she pursed her lips. "It's just how I always am. Problem with that?" Everyone held their breaths, waiting for their teacher's reaction now. It was quiet as Sasuke looked back at her annoyed gaze calmly, and she briefly wondered what was wrong with most of the men in this place. Were they all emotionally stunted? She crossed her arms and waited for his reply.

"Detention." He stated, not losing his cool. "See me right after class." Her eyes widened in disbelief, not believing what she was hearing. She had never been to detention- and she certainly was not going to start now.

She slowly got up from her seat, and green met onyx as she didn't take her eyes off of him, making her way down towards Sasuke's desk. "No. How 'bout I see you right now?" She asked, clenching her teeth. She was going to show him why she had been expelled so many times- she would not take crap from any figure of authority. He did not falter as she reached his desk, all eyes on her- and within the next second, she pulled her fist up and brought it down onto the wooden desk with a loud crack. Kiba rose up from his seat, certain that the tiny fist would break upon impact, but shut his mouth when he saw the wooden object break into half. "I don't like teachers." She said, her voice dangerously low. "And I'm not going to start liking them anytime soon, understood?"

"You're going to have to pay for that." Sasuke said, his composure unbreakable, but Neji had known the Uchiha for some time now, and he could recognize the fury behind those calm depthless eyes. "Take a seat, Haruno." His voice was deeper, his expression unreadable.

She looked at him for a second, soaking in his words. Everyone was waiting, expecting for her to explode any moment now. To everyone's surprise, she didn't start screaming- on the contrary, she leaned over the broken desk with a smirk, and whispered into his ear. "Sasuke-sensei... actually Sasuke-_kun... _I'm Haruno Sakura. I don't follow rules."

With a sly wink, she pulled back and calmly walked back to her seat.

.

* * *

.

"Lessons suck." The pink haired girl said with a pout as she sat down at an empty seat with a lunch tray in hand. Her friends joined her within a few seconds as the empty table quickly filled up.

"Could be worse," Kiba said with a shrug, before stuffing his face with whatever monstrosity was laying on their plates. Sakura cringed- that was definitely not food.

"Yeah," She answered with a nod. "At least I'm with you guys," She added, and she slightly blushed when her eyes landed on unwavering white ones across the table. He gave her a small smirk and she intently stared at her food, hoping that her blush would die down quickly. "So, is anyone else looking forward to the weekend?" She mentally slapped herself, wondering what kind of question that was. Could she sound any more stupid?

"Sakura-san, do you have plans for the weekend?" Neji finally spoke up before anyone else could answer, and she looked at him in surprise. Kiba looked like he was going to answer for her, when he felt someone kick him under the table. He looked up to glare at Shikamaru, and could almost hear the other boy saying "_Stop being troublesome_" in his head.

"I..." She nervously looked at her friends. "I believe I don't." She squeaked , and mentally smacked herself once more.

His eyes didn't waver as he looked at her nervous figure. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Shw wondered how she was going to answer him, and when she found herself at a loss for words she opted for a simple nod before she made a further fool of herself. "You're aware that we don't get weekends off if you don't fulfill detention, don't you?" Shikamaru spoke up, interrupting her racing thoughts. "Thought you should know before you go out on your date." Sakura blushed an even deeper shade of red and was about to answer that she didn't care, she would just sneak out, when she realized that sneaking back and then getting caught was probably not a good impression for a first date. She sighed, deciding that going to detention would be for the best.

"Hey Shikamaru," Kiba whispered. "Sakura may be one of the scariest girls I've ever met, but she sure doesn't know how to deal with men."

Unfortunately, his voice wasn't quiet enough and Sakura was not very amused.

Not amused Sakura, Kiba learned, was never good.

.

* * *

.

"Sasuke-sensei?"

The classroom was empty- and she had half-hoped it would be because then maybe she could've made up a bad excuse about not being able to attend detention because Sasuke wasn't there, and she had cheerfully turned around to head back to her dormitory when she bumped into something very hard- and muscular. She mentally swore as she could almost see her excuse fly out the window. "Going somewhere?" A familiar voice asked her, and she backed away. The familiar blonde- Naruto, peeked over his friend's shoulder.

"Hey Sasuke, you've got a student in detention too?" He piped up, as his blue eyes found her. "Hey it's you! I knew you'd be a troublemaker." He joked, and she gave him a grin in return. Sasuke walked in, Naruto following pursuit as a redheaded boy followed behind him. "This is Gaara- he's in my class, and he's a troublemaker too." The red haired boy didn't look too happy to be there- green eyes similar to Sakura's narrowed in what Sakura could only describe as pure hatred. She then remembered that he had been the boy assailed by hormone-crazed fangirls at the airport. "Sasuke-teme, I bet you only put her in detention 'cause she's pretty. Not that I mind!"

"I have a fiancée, dobe." Sasuke said with a sigh. "And I'm not a pedophile like you are."

Naruto scowled in response, before turning back to look at the pink haired girl. "How old are you, Sakura-chan?"

"Seventeen," She answered, uncomfortable at Naruto's clear advances.

"She's not even that young," Naruto argued. "Seventeen is the prime age! We're twenty one! Only five years older. Aren't your parents like seven years apart or something?" Sasuke flashed him a glare at the mentioning of his parents. Naruto clearly did not get the message, as he kept on babbling. "Don't you watch tv? Student-teacher relationships are the new thing! It's in like every tv series I've watched so far!"

"Dobe, unlike you, I do not have a romantic interest in every attractive female I see." Sasuke answered, motioning for her to take her seat.

"Fiancée?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "I can't imagine anyone staying with you long enough to marry you- my desk is more emotional than you are." She grinned as her words earned a chuckle from Naruto.

Sasuke glared at her once again- and she was beginning to think that it was the only thing he could do with his face. "Mind your own business Haruno. Let me remind you that you are my student and there is a line you do not cross with your superiors." Sakura muttered something about superiors and bullshit, but didn't say anything else as she took her usual seat at the very back of the room.

"Is your hair natural?" Naruto burst out, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I've been wanting to ask you that for awhile." He added.

"Of course it is," She said, flashing him a winning smile and Naruto brightened up.

"Naruto, you're sickening." Sasuke interrupted before his friend could say anything else. "Stop flirting with my student and go take care of your own," He said, nodding towards Gaara who was still sullenly standing at the doorway. Naruto sighed, giving up as he motioned for the boy to take a seat as well.

The two hours felt agonizing to Sakura. She wanted to clear her detention for the sake of her weekend, she really did, but she found it highly difficult to put up with her teacher when the other red haired boy had been able to leave an hour ago and she was still here scrubbing the same spot on the floor for the third time.

"Because you're annoying, and Naruto's student wasn't." Sasuke answered, not looking up from his desk. "You've been complaining every single minute you've been here, and frankly you're beginning to cross over to downright unbearable."

"I'm not annoying," Sakura wrinkled her nose with disapproval." He just smirked and set a sheet of paper on top of a clean pile of others.

"You should hear your own voice. It's deafening." He muttered. She sighed in frustration, letting the mop she was holding clatter loudly to the clean floor.

"You're an asshole."

"Growling is unladylike."

"I bet you're regretting putting me into detention."

"Hn."

"Cat got your tongue?"

"I'm trying to grade papers, Haruno."

"Aw, you don't want to chat with me?"

"…"

"Fine," Sakura threw her hands into the air, giving up. "I'll probably have better luck talking to the wall." She muttered under her breath. He finally looked up from his papers, raising an eyebrow at her last statement- but did not otherwise give her any other response. She picked up the mop again and started scrubbing the floor. She could swear it was _sparkling _now, probably more than those damn vampires in Twilight.

"You may go now."

She could've have kissed his feet, but decided against it for the moment.

He probably wouldn't have appreciated it much anyways.

.

* * *

.

"How was detention?" Shikamaru was lounging around on the couch when she returned. She rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him, as he set down his book, ready to hear her answer.

"It was horrible!" She exploded, looking furious. "Sasuke-sensei better be grateful I didn't punch him in the face. He made me clean the room like what- five times? Ugh, the things I do to get the weekend off..." Her voice trailed away and her face blushed bright red again when she remembered why she needed permission to leave the grounds for the weekend. "Anyways," She hastily added. "Where's Kiba?"

Shikamaru shrugged, looking at the clock which indicated that it was evening already. "Don't know. He said he was going to hang out some more." Sakura looked at his empty bed a bit worriedly, but decided that Kiba was probably old enough to be taking care of himself by now. "Don't worry, he's probably out causing trouble somewhere on the school grounds. He'll be back in no time," Sakura smiled gratefully at her friend's words.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Sakura answered, and closed her eyes as she relaxed back into the comfortable couch.

However, when she woke up to the sound of the clock chiming to indicate it was midnight, she found herself a bit more anxious than before.

"Shikamaru, Shikamaru." She shook her friend awake. "Kiba still isn't here." She said worriedly, glancing around. The brown haired boy blinked a couple of times before her words sank in. "I'm going to look for him. Stay here in case he comes back," She said and before he could answer, she was out of the door.

She had barely made it out of her dorm room into the dark hallway when she felt something chillingly cold and metallic pressed to her temple.

"Haruno Sakura of the Akatsuki; you have two choices. You either follow me or die."

"Is that a gun or are you just happy to see me?" She weakly let out, before she cursed under her breath.

Ah shit, this sucked.

**A/N: EDITED **


	3. Take Me Away

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_"Is that a gun or are you just happy to see me?" She weakly let out, before she cursed under her breath._

_Ah shit, this sucked._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Take Me Away**

"_I know we just got here,_

_But I think it's time to go,_

_I didn't want to believe it, but now I know…"_

_._

_._

_._

"We should talk this out peacefully," Sakura calmly suggested, trying to take her mind off of the object pointed at her head. A bead of sweat slowly rolled down her forehead.

She winced as her attacker pressed the gun to her temple a bit further. "Shut up. Follow me quietly and there will be no blood."

She sighed, putting her hands up in the air. "You're all the same." Sakura muttered in a disappointed tone of voice. "Why must you make it so boring for me by using weapons?" Before her aggressor could utter another word, she whirled around to face him, putting her hands on the silver beretta as she swiftly grabbed it out of his hands, giving him no time to retaliate. The air in his lungs was knocked out of him as her foot collided with his chest, using the leverage to flip back and land gracefully behind him, her feet barely making a sound on the tiled floor as she pointed the gun to his head. He froze, and she saw his hands shake as he put them up in surrender. "Don't play with toys you don't know how to use," She disdainfully said, using one free hand to dig her fingers into his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain as he dropped down to his knees with a loud thud. "Now tell me why you were looking for me. I want details."

"Orders," He choked out with a pained gasp. Her other hand was still firmly holding the gun to his head. She nudged the gun, as if to order him to continue. "I was sent here b-by a man," He barely stuttered out. "I don't know w-what his name i-is but he had silver hair a-and glasses. That's all I know, I swear." He pleaded. "I was just in this for the money, I swear!" His voice was turning shrill.

"If I find out you're lying, I will not hesitate to rip your male genitals off." She threatened him, and was satisfied as she saw him visibly pale, even in the dark. "Did you take my brown eyed friend?"

"What are you talking about?" The man cried out in desperation.

"The one with the red triangles on his cheeks." She said, her fingers digging in deeper. "Did you take him?"

"No!" The man cried out in pain. "I think I saw the guy you're talking about! He was sitting at the ramen stand in front of the school gates with a blond dude!"

She finally let go of him, and he gasped once again at the pain. "I don't know who your boss is," She said, looking at the gun before pocketing it in her jacket. "But let him know that you don't mess with me. And if he's really going to send someone after me, he better send someone better than you."

She quickly disappeared down the hallway, knowing that the man would need a couple of minutes to recover, and quietly made her way through the empty grounds towards the gates. It wasn't hard spotting the ramen stand the man had been talking about- it was the only open place in the darkened street. To her satisfaction, she saw the stand occupied by four men, all extremely familiar. She marched over to the group of men who had no idea of what was coming, and promptly smacked her roommate in the head.

"What the hell Kiba?" Sakura said furiously, as the brunette cried out in surprise. His expression immediately turned guilty as he set his eyes upon his female friend. "It's past midnight and I was worried sick! You could've given us some kind of notice, you know?" She scolded him.

"Ah, Sakura-chan." Kiba said, avoiding her glare. "Did you meet Naruto? He's a teacher in one of the other classrooms- he isn't really much older than us though, he's pretty cool-" He stopped talking when her expression didn't falter. Distractions weren't going to work for her. "Uh, well I met Naruto and he offered to buy me ramen here... and you know I like ramen, so I said yes, and- is that a _gun_ in your pocket?"

"No, I'm just happy to see you." She dryly said. "Nevermind the gun. And you!" She turned over to the other three men sitting next to him. "Naruto-sensei, Sasuke-sensei, Kakashi-sensei! You're all teachers, students aren't allowed out of school grounds past ten on weekdays! You should be more responsible!" The three teachers were too busy staring at the very clear outline of the gun in her pocket to answer.

"Well," Naruto said uneasily, rapidly getting up from his seat. "I should really go get some rest for tomorrow, y'know. Sasuke, make sure they get to their dorms safe, alright?" Before anyone could say anything, he had disappeared into the dark grounds of Konohagakure.

"...hey, he didn't pay for his ramen!"

.

* * *

.

The next morning was completely hectic, to say the least.

Sakura had graciously agreed to set the alarm before they had gone to sleep. It would have been a nice gesture from her part, if only she had remembered to actually set it before collapsing onto her bed and passing out for he night. The room immediately erupted into chaos when Sakura cracked an eye open, realizing that they were all late.

("KIBA LET GO OF MY SHOE YOU ARE NOT A DOG! SHIKAMARU WILL YOU WAKE UP?")

("Having you as a roommate first thing in the morning is-")

("DON'T YOU DARE SAY TROUBLESOME.")

("-Troublesome.")

("SHIKAMARU!")

Neji looked up as Kiba and Sakura noisily stumbled into the classroom, both very out of breath and half-asleep. "The bell's about to ring," He noted, glancing at the clock. "Careful Sakura, you don't want another detention." The rest of the students were all sitting in their seats sitting with friends, a few turning a curious eye towards all the commotion.

"I'm not worried about Sasuke-sensei." Sakura said, trying to regain her breath. She frowned as she thought about the previous day, which she had spent in detention with the cold teacher. Her face broke out into an irritated look as she realized her muscles were sore from cleaning the classroom so thoroughly.

"You really shouldn't frown like that- it makes you look ugly." An unfamiliar voice interrupted their discussion. Sakura furiously whirled around to find the source- when she was met with an incredibly unconvincing smile and a set of perfect, white teeth. She took a minute to study the pale (almost albino) boy who was leaning against the doorway, his empty eyes smiling at her in what would have looked like amusement if only the rest of his face hadn't been so mechanic. He ran a hand through his black, straight hair before crossing his arms. "Haruno Sakura, right? I'm Sai, a pleasure to meet you. Well, not really, but I'm not supposed to say that on first encounters."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Are you a stalker or something?" She retorted, observing him carefully, deciding to ignore his unusual insult. It's not like she was exactly pleased to meet him either. "How do you know my name?"

"No, I'm no stalker. I'm just very informed." The boy who had just introduced himself as Sai said with a polite shrug. He walked up to her until he was standing right in front of her desk, and forcibly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his strange eyes. "You have curious eyes. I've never seen anything like them. They're not ugly, unlike the rest of you." She looked stunned before she pushed his hand away. "Stop glaring, I told you it makes you look ugly." He said again, unfazed by the whole ordeal.

"Don't touch me." She snarled. "A little help here guys?" She glanced at Neji and Kiba, who had been to absorbed in studying the very unique individual before them.

"Don't hand molest my friend!" Kiba said loudly, standing up, waking up out of his daze. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm not going to let you march into our classroom like you own the place and harass my friend." He reached out to push Sai away, but before his hand could make physical contact with his target, Sai was standing a few feet away, Sakura in his arms. Kiba looked ahead speechlessly. The whole class was quiet now, everyone's eyes glued onto the scene unfolding before them.

"Ugh get off of me," Sakura said disgustedly, jumping off of him. "Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" She demanded again, the curiosity in her voice now replaced with suspicion and anger.

"I'm just a messenger," He replied, his smile unwavering. "Watch your back." He whispered into her ear, sending shivers up her spine; before she could reply, he was gone, and they were looking at the blank spot in which Sai had been standing in less than a couple of seconds ago. She had no time to contemplate on his cryptic message when Sasuke entered the room, looking extremely annoyed (No surprise there, she quietly mused to herself). Muttering under his breath about something that sounded like 'dobe', he was about to start class when a knock cut him off.

"What is it now?" He asked with an irritated look. The door opened, as a meek looking secretary poked her head in, looking extremely apologetic and a little bit scared.

"There is a visitor here who wants to see Miss Haruno Sakura." She said in a small voice. "He says it's quite urgent." Sakura automatically stood up as the students around her gave her questioning glances, which she ignored as she made her way to the door. Kiba chuckled, commented something about her popularity, which she promptly ignored.

"Yes well then make it quick." Sasuke snapped at the poor lady. "I have a class to teach here."

Before Sakura could make it to the door, a new stranger stepped into the classroom- his long blond locks tied into a high ponytail (what was _up_ with boys and their ponytails?) and sky blue eyes curiously roaming around the classroom. Despite the hot summer weather, he was covered in a black coat adorned by ruby clouds- a cloak that was all too familiar to the people who were aware.

"Wha-" Sakura's eyes rounded as she set her eyes upon the older boy. Realization dawned over her face and it took her a split second before she started to run towards the man who was receiving many curious looks from both boys and girls. "Deidara!" She exclaimed in delight, throwing her thin arms around the much taller male. "How did you find me here!"

"How you doing?" The stranger asked her in a playful voice, affectionately patting the top of her pink head, as she hugged him tightly. She beamed at him as she pulled away.

"I could be better..." She shot a dirty look at Sasuke for emphasis, which he promptly ignored (no surprise there). "But overall I'm fine. What are you doing here? This is a long way from home..."

Deidara charmingly winked at the girl, causing a number of female students to burst into giggles. "We're dropping in town to attend to business." He said, lowering his voice. "Nothing I can discuss in public, of course." The class burst into curious whispers once again.

Sasuke coughed in the background, looking more irritated by the moment as he tried to avert attention back to himself. He got it, but not in the way he wanted it. "Do you need a cough drop?" Sakura snapped at him, shooting him a glare.

"No," He calmly answered. "But I need you to take care of whatever business you two have _after_ my class. Have I made myself clear?" He earned a scowl in response, but Sakura didn't retort and he quietly observed the pink haired girl whisper something into her blond friend's ear. He nodded, and gave her another wink as he slipped out of the door with a promise to be back later on. When the door was shut again, Sasuke turned back to his class and waited for Sakura to take her seat again when he cleared his throat and began talking again.

Her good mood was short lived.

Class was boring, Sakura decided as she waited for her morning class to end. When the bell finally rang after what seemed like an eternity, she grabbed her friends and exited the classroom, making her way towards Shikamaru's class. Kiba marveled at how the tiny little girl fiercely pushed her way through the crowded hallway, shoving aside anyone who got in her way. "Definitely not cafeteria food today," She said with a look of disgust on her face. "We're going to have decent food." She waved Shikamaru over as he slowly made his way out of his classroom. "C'mon lazy, we're going off grounds to eat today." She said, dragging her other friend. "I noticed a cute café on the corner the other day. I bet they make great sandwiches. I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee either!" She said, as they exited the building, into the sunny day outside.

The grounds were full of bustling students all eager to get their lunch. A few were headed towards the cafeteria (she inwardly grimaced- whoever was brave enough to eat the food there after the first day deserved a medal) and others were sitting down on the green grass under the shade provided by the huge trees, enjoying their handmade lunches. The rest, like her, were headed towards the exit towards the streets outside, hoping to get a decent meal.

When they reached the tall gates, she turned around to make sure her friends were still following her. She mentally did a headcount and paused when she counted two extra heads. She was surprised to see that they had two new additions to the group.

"Uzumaki-sensei, Sasuke-sensei- what are you two doing here?" She asked them curiously, wondering when they had joined.

"It's nice to see you too Haruno." Sasuke commented sarcastically. She rolled her eyes in response and didn't bother answering his statement, before turning to the blond teacher, hoping that she would receive a decent answer from him.

"You can call me Naruto off grounds," The blonde said with a wink, his cerulean (no, his eyes were a slightly brighter shade than that- she noted) blue eyes sparkling. "Kiba was kind enough to invite me along the way, and of course Sasuke-teme can't stand to be far away from me for too long, so I brought him along as well. I hope you don't mind!" She sighed, not having the heart to tell him off. "Anyways, are we going to the ramen stand?" He asked hopefully, his eyes widening in joy at the sole thought of his favorite place in the whole world.

She shook her head apologetically. "Sorry Naruto, not today. I was thinking more along the lines of that café down the street,"

"Ugh, that café has horrible sandwiches." Naruto said in disgust, as his face fell in disappointment. "Pass."

Sakura was about to answer back when Neji interrupted her. "We should go to that Japanese sushi restaurant across the street." His voice was quiet but firm as all the heads (minus Sasuke, of course) whipped around to look at him in surprise. Sakura shot a curious glance at the Japanese sushi shop she had seen couple of times from the grounds, due to its huge size and luxurious architecture. It definitely looked like something they could not afford-

"That's way too expensive!" Sakura exclaimed, and was about to suggest something else when Neji held up a hand to stop her.

"I'll pay." He said simply. "For all of us," She was about to protest when he gently grabbed her hand, slightly pulling her towards that direction. His grip was firm yet gentle at the same time, and found herself at a loss of words as she stared into his unreadable blank eyes. She thought about arguing against him once again, but by now Kiba was looking extremely hopeful and Naruto's eyes were shining again.

Sakura learned that Neji always got his way when he was serious, and within ten minutes, they were all seated looking extremely out of place in the very elegant setting. She noted in amusement how Neji and maybe even Sasuke fit well with the image- they both looked extremely refined and made a very complete image, while the rest of them flat-out looked_ way_ out of place. There was an awkward silence for a full minute, until Naruto decided to break it. "So Sakura-chan, how do you like Konoha's summer course so far?"

"It sucks," Sakura said bluntly, her green eyes blankly looking back at the blonde. "I hate having Sasuke-sensei as a teacher." The man sitting next to her look unfazed as he took an elegant sip out of his tea. Naruto sweat-dropped at the obvious tension between the two- this had not been his intention when he had decided to break the ice.

"And vice-versa." Sasuke curtly replied, not even bothering to open his eyes as he savored the taste of his drink. The table turned quiet once again, as the mash-up of clashing personalities sat around the table in awkward silence.

"Sakura." A voice finally interrupted the silence once again, but it was not from any of the seated people.

Kiba raised an eyebrow- what was up with all these people who seemed to know Sakura? They hadn't even had the time to order off the menu, nonetheless even _look_ at it. They turned around to look at the two new additions- the familiar blonde who had visited her in the classroom was leaning against the wall, accompanied by a slightly shorter man with blood red hair and deep brown eyes, his expression reflecting the opposite of the blonde's overjoyed face. Sakura's eyes lit up as she set her eyes on the two men before them. "You're too easy to spot with that pink hair." The red haired boy spoke monotonously.

"Sasori!" She exclaimed warmly, despite the lack of feeling in his voice. "Deidara! I thought I told you I was joining you after school! What are you doing here?"

"Sasori-danna got impatient, yeah." Deidara said with an amused chuckle, waiting for a reaction from his partner, only to receive none. "He wanted to make sure you were alive and kicking- he never believes my words." He ended his statement with a small pout. Sakura beamed, and put a hand on the table to support her weight as she stood up when Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder, effectively pushing her back into her seat.

She shot him a confused look, but before she could ask him for a reason, they were interrupted by Naruto's loud voice.

"Sakura-chan, they're from the Akatsuki!" Naruto exclaimed in horror, jumping up as he pointed a finger accusingly towards them. "Stay back, they're dangerous criminals!" His eyes narrowed as he took a defensive stance next to her. Sasuke's hand did not leave her shoulder- she thought she felt his grip tighten for a mere second at Naruto's words.

She gave him an uneasy smile. "It's okay Naruto," She said slowly, hoping to calm him down. "I know them, they're my friends."

"How... how are they your _friends_?" Naruto asked with a dumbfounded look on his face, his glance going back and forth between the two men and the pink haired girl. "They're criminals! Don't you get it Sakura-chan? They're not the kind of people you want to be friends with! They'll just drag you into trouble!" Deidara sighed at his words, as Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"Why is it that everyone thinks we're bloodthirsty killers?" Deidara complained, earning a shrug from his partner. Kiba and Shikamaru exchanged knowing looks, unsure of how the rest of the group would react in a few seconds. "You guys are really dull, aren't you?" Deidara rolled his eyes. "She's the only female in the Akatsuki, _duh_." Sasuke froze up, his expression rigid. For the first time, Sakura saw an actual look of rage take over his entire flawless face, as he clenched his fist in anger. His other hand immediately left her shoulder, as if he had been burnt.

His voice shook with anger as he spoke. "I feel sick." He muttered under his breath. Sakura made a move to touch his arm, but he jerked away from her, as if she had been infected with a deadly disease. "Stay away from me," He spat, and his chair clattered to the floor as he abruptly stood up. "You're nothing but trash."

With those last words, he left her completely dumbfounded.


	4. Letters To You

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_"You're nothing but trash." _

_With those last words, he left her completely dumbfounded._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Letters to You**

"_But I'm not sleeping, and you're not here,_

_The thought stops my heart."_

_._

_._

_._

Sakura cursed under her breath as she ran through the streets, wondering to herself why on earth she felt so guilty for infuriating the raven haired teacher.

Maybe it had something to do with how _disappointed_ he had looked when he had realized the truth about her, or maybe it was the way in which he had coldly turned his back to her as he walked away- but in either case, there was something about his departure that had left her unhappy. She didn't know why she was chasing after him, especially after the belittling way he had treated her from the first moment they had met- but if there was something she had learned during her life, it was that there was more to a person than meets the eye, and to be honest, she was desperate to change his opinion about the Akatsuki.

Her gut told her that Sasuke had not headed back towards the school, and she ran down the street and turned the corner, desperately hoping that she would spot his familiar raven hair. No such luck. She cursed once again as it started to rain- what the hell, it had been _sunny_ when class had ended- but she couldn't stop now, not when Sasuke was so furious. She had seen the way in which he had looked at her, and it was different than that time he had glared at her in the classroom, different from the time he had glared at her in the airport- it was more than hatred, and somehow, it deeply disturbed her.

When she stopped to catch her breath, she looked around to study her surroundings as she finally realized she was lost. It was pouring buckets by now- lost _and _wet, just what her day needed to get better, she thought to herself sarcastically. She was SO going to blame Uchiha Sasuke if she got sick.

"Well Sakura, if I knew I was going to find you here in the city but I didn't think it would be so soon." She didn't even have to turn around to recognize that voice- she would've recognized it anywhere.

"You guys can't give me a break, can you?" She sighed, turning to face the new stranger. "First Deidara, then Sasori, now you. I didn't know you mistrusted me this much." She finally turned around, and her eyes widened at the person in front of her. "Sas-" Her voice got stuck in her throat as she realized that this man was not the one she had been looking for. She had recognized his voice, but seeing his form blurred by the rain, he had looked exactly like her teacher for a moment. Now, she saw that they were different- the man before her was slightly tanner, and had mature marks lining his face. His hair was similar to Sasuke's raven, except it was long and tied at the back. "Itachi." She flatly acknowledged, realization starting to bloom with panic inside the bottom of her stomach.

He shook his head, motioning for her to come under his umbrella. Slightly shivering, she followed his orders and quickly went for cover as he handed her his dry cloak.

"Wear this; you're going to get sick." He ignored her protests and watched her silently as she wrapped the oversized cloak around her small figure. "We don't mistrust you- we're just following protocol. You know we can't just ignore it if one of our members goes mysteriously missing. Why didn't you tell us you were going to be leaving?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"I still don't see why so many of you had to come here." She muttered under her breath. "It's a long story, not enough time. But I didn't _leave_, I'm just taking a break. Well you can't really even call it a break..." Her voice trailed off, as she met his gaze. The strongest proof that this man was not Sasuke stared back down at her- his eerie ruby eyes. The realization that had been stirring inside her finally burst as she blurted out her words. "Oh my god. Why didn't I notice sooner? You and Sasuke-sensei are _related_!"

"Long story, not enough time." Itachi repeated with a smirk. She longed to press the matter further, but knew better than to question Itachi when he did not want to be questioned.

"Cut the bullshit," She said with a sigh, and looked up once again at the older man. "I don't need to be looked after, and I'm sure Leader wouldn't waste three members only on me. What are you doing here?"

"You are important to the Akatsuki, Sakura." Itachi patiently told her, and paused. She couldn't help but feel her pride swell as the words left the Uchiha's mouth. It was usually hard to get a compliment out of the stoic man. "And you are our youngest and only female member." He finished, and her shoulder sagged.

"You think I'm all fragile and helpless just 'cause I'm a girl." She stated in a deadpanned voice, unable to hide the disappointment lacing her words.

"I'm simply stating that it was be a very big loss for the Akatsuki." He answered. "Plus," He added, his voice reaching a dangerously sultry tone. "I'd miss your cherry blossom hair." As if to prove his point, he gently held one of her pink locks in his hands, slowly watching them slide through his long, elegant fingers.

"I wouldn't miss _you_." She retorted back, and he smirked at her response.

"That's my girl," He whispered, and before she could answer again, he was gone, leaving his umbrella and cloak behind.

She sighed in frustration, not even bothering to look around for him. What was up with men and disappearing into nowhere? Everyone was just plain weird here.

She tightened the hold on her umbrella as she looking around, realizing she was still lost.

He could've at least pointed her in the right direction, she thought to herself miserably as she started walking again.

.

* * *

.

Sakura had been wandering the streets for what felt like hours now- the streets were empty due to the heavy rainstorm, ruining her chances of even asking a stranger for her way back. Surely Kiba and Shikamaru would have noticed that she wasn't back in their dorms by now. They were probably worried sick, she thought to herself. She could just imagine Shikamaru on the brink of tears...

"Fancy meeting you here Ugly."

Big apple green eyes looked up to see the person she least expected to meet in the middle of an empty street- the tall mysterious boy with the unreadable face who had given her that cryptic warning was standing in front of her now, a blue umbrella in hand as he smiled at her once again. "Sai?" She asked, squinting at him under the heavy downpour. She didn't know if she should have been rejoicing or running away.

He cocked his head to the side, before answering. "Yes it's me Ugly. Are you blind as well?" A pleasant (fake, she noted) smile graced his lips. She had to bite down on her lip to refrain herself from giving him a nasty answer- she reminded herself that he was the only one who could help her right now.

"Right um... Sai, I'm kinda lost right now. I was wondering if you could help me get back to Konoha," She said, trying to sugarcoat her tone as much as possible, praying that he would get her out of this horrid situation.

"Ugly, blind and dumb." Sai commented. "Sure. I was heading there right now anyways."

She grit her teeth and told herself that it would be no good if she killed him right there and then- she would have to wait at least until the school gates before doing so.

.

* * *

.

"WE WERE WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!"

A deafening voice made her wince as soon as she opened the door to her dorm. She was surprised when she found her dorm to be more populated than usual- aside from a very disgruntled Kiba and a lazy Shikamaru, her dorm was occupied by worried Naruto, concerned Neji, indifferent Gaara and unreadable Shino. Sasuke... Sasuke wasn't there. Obviously.

She blamed her guilt for feeling disappointed that Sasuke wasn't there with the others- nothing else.

Kiba jumped onto her, tackling her to the floor as Naruto furiously pried the canine boy off of her. Neji held out a hand and helped her up from the floor, handing her a towel at the same time. Akamaru joyously barked at the pink haired girl's return, running around in circles around her. "Stop biting me Kiba!" Naruto shrieked, pulling away from the boy he had just tackled to the ground.

"Go change Sakura." Shikamaru said, looking up at her from the couch. "You're going to get sick."

"Yeah yeah," Sakura mumbled, grabbing a pair of clothes from her dresser before heading over to the bathroom. "I'll be right back," She called, and reached for the doorknob to the bathroom when the door slammed into her face, sending her falling over backwards. "Ow," She groaned, rubbing the injury on her forehead. She furiously looked up to see who had exited the bathroom so abruptly when she found herself staring into Sasuke's face. "Sasuke," She murmured, acknowledging the man.

"People have been worrying." He said quietly, before slipping past her fallen form and heading towards the living room. He didn't even stop to help her up, she noted angrily. Didn't he know that she had gone looking for him all this time?

"Wait- Sasuke-sensei!" She called out hesitantly, wondering if it was appropriate for her to address this subject. He stopped in his tracks but did not look back at her. "I... I apologize about what happened." She dumbly said, not knowing how else to put it. She wasn't sure exactly why she was apologizing, but it simply felt right. She didn't expect to receive an answer from him, and was surprised when she did.

"Do you know... a man of name Uchiha Itachi?" He muttered, his voice barely audible. Her eyes widened as the object of her nagging curiosity was brought up again. Her face flushed red as she realized she was still sprawled across the floor- regaining her composure, she quickly stood up and dusted herself off.

"I... I do," She slowly answered, wondering if it was the right response. "Are you... related?"

"You shouldn't talk to him." He answered, ignoring her question. "He's a dangerous man."

"I didn't know you cared," She teased him, and her grin froze and she could swear his eyes had flashed red for a moment. She shook her head- it was probably her imagination.

"I'm being serious here Sakura." He whirled around to grab her arm tightly, and she yelped in surprise at his aggressive gesture. Her eyes widened as she realized he had used her first name. "Stay away from him." His voice was low and deadly, and slightly scared her as she had never heard anyone with so much hatred oozing out of their voice.

"L-let go of me." She stuttered, wondering to herself why she wasn't pushing him away. There was something in his eyes that frightened her, that made her scared. He seemed to realize what he was doing as his eyes widened, before releasing his hold on her.

"Go change." He said, and walked away leaving her dumbfounded once more.

.

* * *

.

For some reason, Naruto thought that it would be a good idea for him to sleep in her dorm that night.

Sakura thought otherwise.

"It would be weird if someone caught me walking out of your dorm at this time of the night." He explained, but all the other males thought it was something much more than that. He eyed Neji who did not bother to get up and exit the room. "Aren't you guys going back to your dorms?" He asked suspiciously.

"It would be inappropriate if someone caught us sneaking out of the room," Neji simply answered, and Naruto had nothing to say to his own words used against him. Shino and Gaara remained impassive, and Sakura wondered if all the boys had taken a vow of silence for these following two months. "This is Shino and Gaara." Neji introduced to the pink haired girl who looked confused at their presence. "They are my roommates. They thought it would be a good idea to wait for you in here with me."

Sakura greeted them, remembering Shino from the airport and Gaara from the detention. She looked around and cleared her throat, before stating " Girls are going to sleep in the bedroom and the boys are going to sleep in the living room."

"But..." Kiba started to say, looking around the room. "You're the only girl!"

"Aren't you a smart boy." Sakura said with a wink.

Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head as he snapped his book shut. "I don't care as long as I can sleep. Kiba, the less you complain, the faster I can go to sleep." He said, shooting a warning glance at the said boy who had already opened his mouth to protest. "I think Sakura has a point. It would be inappropriate for so many males to invade her privacy." Naruto looked sullen and Kiba angry, but neither said a word. Sasuke tried to leave in between the confusion, but Naruto immediately grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Teme, if I'm staying, you're staying with me." Naruto said with a grin.

"What kind of teacher are you?" Sasuke grumbled, but did not try to leave again as the boys started to move the furniture around for more space.

The lights were finally out and they were all asleep within half an hour, and Sakura happily smiled to herself as she snuggled underneath the warm (and dry) covers. It had been a tiring day- she had been looking forward to falling asleep for hours now. Her thoughts began to drift and she was almost fully asleep when the door to her bedroom slowly creaked open. Her eyes snapped open in the dark as the door closed again, her brain now alert.

"It's me."

She smiled at the familiar voice, relaxing as a welcome figure approached her bed.

"Neji." She whispered, finding his hand in the dark. "Come here." The bed slightly shifted as he laid down next to her, saying nothing at all. She snuggled into his warm embrace, closing her eyes once again. "Good night Neji." She whispered into the darkness, smiling.

"Sweet dreams Sakura."

.

* * *

.

"NEJI'S MISSING! SAKURA-CHAN, HAVE YOU SEEN-"

The noisy blonde's scream abruptly stopped in mid-sentence as he burst through the door to the bedroom, only to witness pink locks mixed with silky brown ones. His face wrinkled in disgust. "Oh..._oh._" His voice faded out, ending in a mixture of amazement and horror. The pink haired girl stirred in her sleep before cracking an eye open, as Neji's eyes snapped open at the same time.

"Na-Naruto?" Sakura managed to croak out as she tried to speak, only to burst into coughs before she tried to speak again. "Is that you?"

"You're sick." Neji murmured, sitting up to rest of a hand over her forehead. "Your temperature's unnaturally high. That's what you get for walking around in the rain for hours." She realized how uncomfortably warm she was as she shifted around under the covers. Her face flushed, beads of perspiration forming on her forehead.

"You'd better stay away from me." She said with a grimace. "You're going to get sick as well." Neji quietly embraced her small figure, before sliding out of the bed. Thankfully, Naruto noted, they still had their clothes on.

"C'mon lovebirds, time to get up and running." Naruto exclaimed awkwardly, poking Neji, who slapped his hand away in irritation. "No time to waste! You're gonna be late for class-"

"Haruno." A voice interrupted Naruto mid-sentence. "As your classroom teacher, I'm giving you permission to stay in until you get better." Sasuke looked at the weak girl laying in her bed for a moment before looking away. "Try to get better quickly. I expect you to be back in my class as soon as you do." She nodded, coughing a bit more before closing her eyes again. "Hyuuga, no excuses, off to class with you." Neji scowled at him, but made no move to indicate that he was going to leave the room.. Sasuke's eye twitched.

Naruto nervously looked back and forth between the two boys before sighing. "Neji, I'll have to ask you to go to class before I restrict you from seeing Sakura-chan." Naruto didn't dare add that technically, he didn't have the authority to restrict students from seeing each other. On the other hand, he could report to the superiors that Neji had been sleeping in a room that wasn't his own, but Naruto would just be signing his own death warrant. Neji's unnerving white eyes stared at Naruto for a moment before he got up.

"Take good care of yourself," Neji murmured, and let his cool hand ghost over her warm cheek before leaving the room. Naruto nervously noted how Neji's shoulder very slightly bumped into Sasuke's as he left the room. All Naruto could do was pray that Sasuke wasn't in one of his horrific morning moods that day. Sasuke's eye twitched once more but stopped when he set his eyes upon the little pink haired girl.

Sakura opened her eyes for a minute as they rested over the tall man standing behind Naruto. "Thanks sensei," She whispered, and proceeded to curl into a ball under her covers in an attempt to warm herself up. He answered her with a quiet nod and no words before he exited the room.

Naruto uneasily looked back at Sakura- there was something strange going on in Konoha. He decided that Sakura-chan was definitely off-limits for him- as much as he thought she was adorable, he preferred not risking his life by putting himself between the two very headstrong men that seemed to be involved in this complex triangle.

.

* * *

.

The day proved to be even slower than usual. With no one to keep her company, the minutes seemed like hours, something that she couldn't stand. The only break she got was when Naruto would stop by in between breaks to bring her medicine and snacks (which consisted mostly of instant ramen) and occasional gossip about her friends.

"Sasuke-teme's been out of it all morning." The blue eyed boy enthusiastically informed her as he settled down on Shikamaru's bed, thoughtlessly munching on uncooked instant ramen. "I actually think he's been taking it out on Neji- poor Hyuuga can't catch a break." He sighed, looking over towards his newfound friend. She took a sip of her warm tea before slowly speaking her thoughts.

"Hey Naruto, I have a question about Sasuke-sensei." She said, waiting for his reaction.

"Don't call him Sasuke-_sensei_." Naruto said with a scowl. "You'll make me lose my appetite. But go ahead, ask."

"Is he...related to Uchiha Itachi?" She asked, and stopped for a minute as he choked on the piece of ramen he was chewing. "I mean, it never hit me until now- I should've realized it sooner, 'cause Uchiha isn't really a common surname, but I had a hard time thinking that there could actually be such a coincidence." She waited for him to regain his breath to receive her answer.

He wiped the tears that had gathered at his eyes. "Well, it's a good thing you asked me. Sasuke... that teme would have your head cut off if you went around asking him questions of the sort." Naruto told her, and she sat up straight, interested in the direction this conversation was taking. Curiosity would get the best of her one day, but for now she needed to hear his answer. She encouraged him to continue with an eager nod of her head. "It basically happened when Sasuke was about eight years old," Naruto explained solemnly, his serious expression making her even more interested. "He had a picture perfect family- a strict dad, beautiful mom and older brother- Itachi."

"So they're brothers." She said, and he nodded, before continuing.

"Anyways, Sasuke had a major brother complex- I mean he looked up to the man as if he was God himself. But he was always jealous in a way, I guess, 'cause his dad would always praise Itachi for being such a prodigy while Sasuke always seemed to be second best... and..." He hesitated for a moment. Her eyes were wide and shining with anticipation now, and he hated to ruin her curiosity with a horrible twist. "No one really knows what the reason was- Itachi might have gone insane or something, which is my personal opinion, but he tried to kill his whole family. He succeeded in killing their mother, but thankfully Sasuke and his father as still alive, even if his dad is permanently in a wheelchair." He winced as she gasped in horror.

"That's... absolutely horrible." Sakura whispered. She knew that Sasuke was cold and hard to get along with, but she had never imagined such a dark past behind those unreadable onyx eyes. She suddenly felt bad for all the times she had argued with the man. She mentally promised herself to treat him better the next time she would see him. "I finally understand why he got so angry at me yesterday."

"He had no right to lash out at you like that." Naruto immediately argued. "It's not like you could have known any of this. And it's not your fault you're in the same organization as his brother."

She looked down at her hands, not daring to meet his eyes. "The Akatsuki... it isn't really all that." She murmured, and this time it was his turn to look surprised.

"What do you mean?" She hated how innocent his big baby blue eyes were. "It's one of the most renowned gangs in Japan. And their success rate is incredible! And there are less than ten members!" He looked sheepish for a second. "I've always been kind of jealous. I mean not that I'd ever do anything illegal," He added quickly. "But it sounds so kickass. I mean you only have ten members and they're all super strong- I used to hear all sorts of things about Itachi being a super genius when Sasuke was young, so you must be some sort of prodigy as well!"

"It's not what you think it is!" She blurted out, effectively stopping his rant. "Once you become of the Akatsuki... you can't get out anymore. You're tainted." She said hesitantly. "Blackmail... murder... it's all so ugly. We get normal missions all the time as well, but there are sometimes..."

"Have you..." Naruto took a moment to take a deep breath. "Have you ever killed before?" It took all over her energy to hold down the lump in her throat.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea." She told him, and a look of hurt overcame his face.

"Sakura-chan, did you really think I was going to judge you because you're in the Akatsuki?" He said, standing up to give her a friendly pat on her head. "Nope, nothing will ever change my opinion on you." He gave her a big grin as she relaxed her shoulders at his reassuring smile. She returned it with a bright smile of her own.

"I think break's over Naruto." She told him, and he yelped in surprise.

"Damnit, you're right! See you later Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, and ran off, slamming the door behind him.

She smiled at the closed door, and laid back in her bed, thankful for having found such a good friend in such an unexpected place.

.

* * *

.

"SAKURA-CHAN! WE HEARD YOU'RE SICK!" A voice shrieked as the door to her room slammed open.

Sakura inwardly groaned- after spending two hours being bored out of her mind, she had finally found peace of mind when she found herself finally drifting off to sleep- her mind had been blissful, for once. Until her loud obnoxious friend decided to interrupt less than five minutes later.

Sakura cracked an eye open, looking at the figure who had just burst into her room.

"What are you doing here?" She murmured sleepily, as she rubbed her eyes, trying to make out the intruder's blurred figure.

Sasori looked over at his partner before setting his eyes on the petite girl. "He's being very impulsive. I told him to wait until you got better but I doubt he ever listens to what I say." Deidara simply rolled his eyes, before turning his attention back towards Sakura.

"Sorry for being a good friend, unlike you." Deidara shot back. Sakura briefly wondered why all her blond friends were all so loud and full of energy- Deidara, Naruto, Ino... she sighed, reminding herself to find better company to keep on sick days like today.

"If you were a good friend, you would let her rest until she got better." Sasori lazily commented, reading her thoughts. Deidara looked guilty for a minute before ignoring his friend's words. "Well I cared too much for my friend to wait it out." He turned back towards Sakura, who was shooting them a confused look. "We heard you were sick." He stated again, and waited for her to answer.

"Obviously Deidara had the impulse to come and barge into your dorm, causing a mess in the process." Sasori added, earning another glare.

Sakura scowled, looking at him warily. "What do mean, a 'huge mess'?"

"Well, you see when I came in, I, uh, ran into a couple of things-"

"And broke them." Sasori finished for him. She turned her emerald orbs towards the blonde expectantly. He swallowed, sensing the threat in her eyes.

"Well you see, I kinda knocked over the lamp-" Sakura looked relieved for a second. It was short lived. "-which kind of crashed into the end table which crashed into the TV, which kinda cracked." He finished. She growled under her breath and lunged at the blond boy, who let out a girlish scream before his partner rolled his eyes and simply stuck out a hand, grabbing Sakura by the collar of her shirt, successfully stopping her mere inches from Deidara's face.

"Let's not get too hasty, Sakura." Sasori said, grabbing her arms and easily lifting her off the floor. "You're still sick and Deidara has a new mission soon. Leader wouldn't be pleased if you sent him back with injuries." He waited for her to calm down as Deidara cowered in a corner of the room. When she stopped writhing, he set her down.

"Fine," She answered with a sigh. "But Deidara's still paying for all of that."

Deidara's face brightened up, looking quite smug. "Oh well, that's no problem." He said with a smirk, met with her a questioning look. "We have an S-ranked mission from the Leader coming up soon." He boasted, and Sakura couldn't help but be a bit envious. S-ranked missions were the most highly paid missions in the Akatsuki- but they were equally as dangerous. She could have used the pocket money right now.

"Lucky," She muttered to herself, wistfully thinking about her almost-empty wallet. "Since you guys are taking care of business here, do you think Leader will let me go on missions too?"

Deidara shrugged. "It might be tough for you to deal with boarding school and missions at the same time, but if you can deal with it, I'm sure he won't reject your help." He stopped to think about it for a moment. "But then again, I never know what Leader is thinking, so you'd have to ask him yourself."

"Is he here in the city of Leaf as well?" She asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Well," Deidara hesitated, looking over at his partner once again. "We've actually set up a temporary base here. Leader says we need to take care of a lot of business we neglected in this area."

"You're telling me that all of you are here?"

"Pretty much." Sasori answered, looking at his watch. "We'll let Leader know that you'll be available for missions. We have to get going now, Kisame's treating everyone to dinner."

"Hey no fair! Why do you get to be treated to dinner?" Sakura complained. "I'm a member as well, and I have every right to go to that dinner as you do." Deidara crossed his arms and shot her a pointed look.

"You're sick." Deidara flicked her on the forehead, as she let out a cry of protest. "You have to stay in and rest." She glared at him before taking his hand and forcefully putting it on her forehead. He cringed the sheer force of her grip and tried to tug his hand away. "I get it, I get it, you're not sick!" She grinned at him in satisfaction as she let go of his hand. He winced, rubbing his wrist where his skin was turning red.

Sasori sighed. "Kisame's not going to be happy..."

.

* * *

.

"Ah, Fish-chan!" Sakura shrieked in delight when they entered the temporary headquarters to the Akatsuki. She took a moment to appreciate her surroundings- it wasn't much different than their headquarters back home. Perhaps it was a bit smaller, but that was to be expected as the one back home was their main base. Gloomy dark colors decorated the walls, and the furniture was kept as simple and as modern as possible. She set her eyes on her target, before jumping onto the huge, blue-skinned man.

"...the hell?" Kisame said gruffly, looking mildly surprised. "I thought she was sick!" He was seated comfortably on a couch in the middle of what looked like to be the living room- the walls were gloomily painted dark red, making the atmosphere serious and heavy. Sakura noted that Kisame was alone in the room, and fondly beamed at the man. Kisame was one of Akatsuki's old timers- he was one of the first members and Sakura never dared to ask him exactly how long he had been working for the gang. He was tall and had unique blue skin, with menacing beady black eyes, but despite his scary looks, Sakura knew him as a man who, despite his rough antics, cared for his few friends very much.

"Well, I felt a lot better after they told me that you were going to be the one buying dinner." She responded with a cheeky grin.

Deidara swallowed as Kisame's gaze turned on him- his sharp teeth looked extremely threatening at the moment. "Ah... it was an accident Kisame. No harm done right?" Deidara said nervously, shivering as Kisame's glare deepened.

"Dolt." Sasori commented, slightly shaking his head.

"Kisame-_sama_," Deidara pleaded. Sakura rolled her eyes and muttered something about Deidara being pathetic under her breath.

"It's just a dinner, let's just get it over with." A new figure appeared in the doorway, his slicked back grey hair shining in the dim llights. Despite the color of his hair, his face looked extremely young- he looked to be about in his late twenties, but Sakura had never bothered to ask him, because he wasn't going to answer her anyways. He rolled his eyes at her, despite the smirk that crawled up on his face. His distinctive purple eyes glinted with mischief.

"Hidan! I haven't seen you in ages! Not since you went to church camp!" Sakura exclaimed, launching herself towards the man.

"They told me you were sick," Hidan said, echoing Kisame's words, looking down at the smaller girl. "And it wasn't church camp Sakura, how many times do I have to tell you that?"

A frown graced her pale features. "The day I'll be sick for more than a day will be the day Kakuzu will pay for dinner." Sakura snorted, ignoring his last statement, and everyone in the room chuckled.

"Which will never happen." Hidan concluded for her. "That's the Sakura I know," He patted her on the head like a pet and was met with a scowl. She shoved his hand away, looking at him with disappointment in her eyes.

"I'm not a little girl, you can stop treating me like one." She grumbled under her breath, stepping to the side. "Well maybe compared to this guy I am," She pointed towards Kisame. "But anyways, when are we eating Fish-chan?"

"When you stop calling me that." Kisame grunted, and she tried to pat his head but stopped when she couldn't reach it. "Still seventeen and shorter than me at the age of ten, and she still insists she's not a little girl." He said, pushing her arm away. "You'll always be a little girl to us."

"Okay, fine whatever," She said, rolling her eyes. "Let's go then, Salmon-kun!"

"Sakura!"

.

* * *

.

"Well, I must say that you've outdone yourself this time." Sakura said, taking an appreciative glance around at her surroundings. "When you said you were buying dinner, I was expecting something like McDonalds. I didn't think you'd buy us something so expensive as this." The elegantly carpeted room and crystal chandelier was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She quietly suspected that he had received his fair batch of S-class missions after her departure.

"Yeah, and when I said I was buying, I didn't think you were coming." Kisame grunted, as Sakura playfully punched him on the shoulder- actually sending him flying off of his chair and crashing into the wall. "Damnit what did I say about controlling your dumb strength!" He growled loudly, getting up from the floor as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

"It's all out of love." Sakura said absent-mindedly, sitting back. "Good food by the way Salmon-kun. I haven't eaten this well in ages."

"You have an appetite of a monster." Kisame commented, eyeing all the empty plates stacked up in front of her. "And you won't get dessert unless you stop calling me that."

"Fine Tuna-sama. Just hurry up," Sakura complained.

"I apologize for our tardiness." A deep voice joined the conversation. "I had a sudden meeting with Leader. I was also informed that Tobi and Kakuzu are on their way back from a mission right now. They probably will only make it in time for a brief greeting. As for me, I have already had dinner, so I have no need to eat."

"Evening Itachi." Kisame said with a curt nod, and Sakura felt herself shrink back into her seat, hiding in between Deidara and Sasori. She had always known Itachi to be an extremely intimidating man, but she had never realized the extent of it. She observed him quietly as he greeted the other members. Itachi had always been very detached from the rest of them- while Sakura had felt extremely at home with most of the members, Itachi had always been a person she had not been able to interact well with. She could see the resemblance to Sasuke in some way- they had the same raven-coloured silky hair, except Itachi's was much longer and tied into a loose ponytail at the back. They had the same masculine facial structure, except Itachi's face was marred with lines that told of his older age. Sasuke didn't have those chillingly blood red eyes, she noted, as she shuddered. He was a man of many secrets, but she had never imagined that his secrets had been so dark. She briefly wondered how a man could attempt to kill off his entire family when her thoughts were interrupted.

"You're cute when you're scared, yeah." Deidara whispered amusedly into her ear, as she jumped.

"Shut up," Sakura snarled at him. "Excuse me, I must use the bathroom." She abruptly got up from her seat and gave Itachi a short nod, before heading over to the restrooms. She had almost reached the door when she hear an extremely familiar voice call out to her.

"Sakura?"

"Sa…Sasuke?"

This was not good at all.

Well shit.


	5. Crooked Teeth

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

"_Sa…Sasuke?"_

_This was not good at all._

_Well shit._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER FIVE **

**Crooked Teeth**

"_Cause I built you a home in my heart,_

_With rotten wood, _

_And it decayed from the start…"_

_._

_._

_._

"Sa...Sasuke?" Sakura felt her throat constrict as it dried up.

"What are you doing here?" The said man asked her, casting her an uneasy look. She cast a nervous look behind her shoulder towards Deidara, whose face looked extremely serious for once. He motioned for her to look away immediately, before she accidentally directed Sasuke's gaze towards them.

"I... I was invited to dinner by a good friend of mine." She forced a cheeky grin onto her face. "And he usually don't offer to pay, so I couldn't miss out on that chance." This was a disaster, she noted. If Sasuke had any idea that Itachi was here... it would be an absolute disaster, and she couldn't afford to take sides- she couldn't blame Sasuke for being angry at his brother, but at the same time, her bond to Akatsuki prevented her from siding against his older brother.

"I certainly didn't invite her here," Kisame muttered under his breath from across the room. "This idiot here did." Deidara kicked him from under the table.

"Itachi will not pass up on this chance to taunt his younger brother." Deidara hissed, while Sasori strategically started up a conversation with the unsuspecting elder Uchiha. "We absolutely can _not _hint at the fact that they are in the same room." Kisame simply frowned but did not object, glacing once more at the pink haired girl sweating buckets a couple of meters from them.

"Well what are you doing here Sasuke?" She forced out, looking into his frowning pale face.

Sasuke glanced back. "Teacher's dinner night out." He muttered, looking extremely irritated. She spotted Naruto, who shot her a bright smile and waved. She returned the wave half-heartedly, envious of his blissful ignorance to the fact that the restaurant was able to turn into a bloodshed if she didn't do anything about it. "And that's Sasuke-sensei for you," He added sternly, as she rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me, I need a moment with Pinky here." A gruff voice interrupted, and Sakura whirled around to see Kisame right behind her. Without even waiting for Sasuke's answer, he grabbed Sakura violently by the arm and dragged her to another side of the room where they were out of earshot. Deidara actually felt sorry for her as he observed them from the table. "What's the big idea here Pinky? If he finds out that Itachi is here, it'll be a disaster!" He growled. "Itachi just went to the men's restroom, and thankfully the men's restroom is on the other side of this restaurant, but when he comes back out, he'll have a direct view of the kid over there, and it's not going to be pretty."

"Well, then go tell Itachi to stay in the bathroom." Sakura suggested dumbly, her mind going blank as she inwardly started to panic.

"First of all, what would he do?" Kisame looked incredulous at the girl's suggestion. "Sit in the bathroom until the other Uchiha goes away? And second, he wouldn't hide. He'd probably reveal himself and amuse himself by provoking his brother over there. Don't you know their history?"

"Yes, I know." She said, prying his blue hand off her arm. "Then what do we do? Have Deidara distract him or something."

"We both know Deidara is a terrible actor." Kisame hissed. "What will he do? Pounce in exclaiming 'Hello Itachi, wonderful day isn't it? Want to have a chat here in the bathroom? Here why don't you sit down on a toilet while we have tea together?'. Yeah Sakura, that plan is sure to work." He said sarcastically. The statement might have been a bit funny if Sakura hadn't been busy mentally writing a will to leave behind when she would die in about five minutes.

Sakura uncomfortably looked up at him. "Well do you have a plan?" She did not like the smirk that had overcome his face.

"Oh yes I do. But we're going to need a female for this."

.

* * *

.

"WHY? Tell me WHY I always get stuck in these crappy situations." Sakura muttered miserably to herself, as Deidara sympathetically patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay, yeah." He tried to encourage her. "Good luck Sakura-chan, I assure you, you will be missed."

"Asshole," She muttered, and cast one last gloomy glance at her friend before gathering up the courage to head towards the men's bathroom. She couldn't stall forever- Itachi was bound to come out of the bathroom any minute right now, and if he did, she was letting a war start right then, right there. "See you in Hell," She added, stopping in front of the door. "Great plan," She muttered under her breath. "Distract Itachi while the others try to exit towards the back entrace. Great. How the hell am I supposed to distract him?"

She took a deep breath, before hesitantly raised a hand and knocking once.

Twice.

Three times.

"I-Itachi?" She cursed under her breath at how small and weak her voice sounded. She took another deep breath as she pushed the door open, to find the small space empty. She slowly walked forwards, letting the door swing shut as her footsteps echoed off the tiled white walls. There was no one in sight, yet she could sense him in the room. She slowly walked towards the sink and let the water run, as she washed her face with cold water. She looked up and through the reflection in the mirror, saw that she was indeed not alone.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was calm and collected, but it held no hints of friendliness.

"I came looking for you. We were getting ready to leave." She tried to sound calm, keeping her mind concentrated on Sasuke and the fight that would surely ensue if she did not keep her charade steady.

Itachi walked around her and turned the faucet off, as the room turned completely quiet. She stiffed as he reached an arm around her, as he turned off the faucet, almost hugging her in the process. She cautiously kept her eyes on her own hands, careful not to make eye contact with his strange blood ruby eyes. "Well that's nice of you," He murmured in a deep voice, close enough for her to feel his breath on her neck. "Sakura, Sakura. What shall we do?" His voice was cool and monotonous, but she could feel the hint of danger behind it. Itachi couldn't possibly be thinking what she was thinking...

"I..." She swallowed as her voice got caught in her throat. "I don't know." She was tempted to simply suggest for them to go back to the others but she knew that she couldn't, not yet at least.

"You and me, in a bathroom alone..." Itachi whispered. He lifted a hand to caress her warm cheek. His cool skin felt like death against hers. She almost jolted at the touch, but tried to remain calm on the exterior despite her heart pounding against her ribcage. Surely Itachi wasn't going to...

"I... don't know what you're talking about." She responded meekly, turning her face in the other direction to avoid looking at him in the face.

"Why don't we have a bit of fun... Sakura?" He murmured, bringing his mouth right next to her ear, sending involuntary shivers down her spine. His lips grazed against her ear. She felt absolutely helpless, her feet frozen in place. She knew Itachi was way too strong for her to handle, despite her superhuman strength. Her heart jumped once more when a cough interrupted his hands, which were crawling closer to her body. She almost cried out in joy. Both their heads snapped around to turn around at their interruption.

"Excuse me for interrupting your time together, but I do acknowledge the fact that this is the men's room." The man was polite and really did sound apologetic. His slim body hovered around at the doorframe, his young face framed by a couple grey stands that had fallen loose from his ponytail. A pair of round glasses hung off the bridge of his nose.

"No, I'm sorry," She sheepishly apologized, when another figure burst into the room, knocking Kabuto over.

"Itachi, Sakura, what are you two doing here? We've been waiting for you two for ages!" Kisame growled, not paying any attention to the startled grey haired man. Sakura recognized it as their signal to make their way out as the others had taken care of the situation outside.

"I'm sorry sir," She apologized to the man.

"Call me Kabuto," He said with a kind smile which she returned. She bowed politely and quickly rushed out of the door, followed by the two other men.

When the door swung shut and the three were a long way out, Kabuto slowly smirked.

"Haruno Sakura..." He muttered. "What are you thinking?"

.

* * *

.

Kisame hastily led them out by the back entrance, successfully avoiding a war from erupting.

"We're taking the back entrance." Kisame muttered, almost pushing the two out the door. "The limo would attract too much attention if we had it parked at the front. Everyone else is waiting for you- and what in the world were you two doing in the men's bathroom?" Sakura mentally thanked the gods that Kisame was an excellent actor.

"We were talking." Itachi simply answered.

"Ah, I understand." Kisame said with a smirk, which made Sakura blush a deeper shade than her bright pink hair. "I won't ask any more."

"Don't take it the wrong way-" Sakura rushed, slightly annoyed at the look on his face.

"I wasn't taking anything the wrong way Sakura. You and your tainted mind..." He trailed away in a chuckle. She glared at the taller man.

"Shut up." She childishly replied.

"Make me, Pinky."

"You are like a bunch of children." Itachi quietly said, as Kisame opened the door to the limousine, letting the other two enter first. She blushed once again as she entered the luxurious vehicle, met with questioning glances. She noticed that Tobi and Kakuzu had indeed joined them during her absence.

"What happened Sakura-chan?" Deidara asked smugly. "Care to give us all the juicy details... yeah?" She shot him a threatening look and he immediately backed down. "Uh, we should Sakura-chan off at her school first."

"I always have to be escorted everywhere." Sakura said with a pout. "You guys make me feel so helpless."

"That's only because you're our favorite girl-" Deidara said, and patted her head once again. He was rudely interrupted by Kisame's cough which sounded more like 'not' than an actual cough. "And we don't want anything happening to you." Deidara finished, shooting Kisame a glare. She smiled at his statement.

"And you know you're my favorite boys."

.

* * *

.

When she returned to her dorm, she found Shikamaru quietly sleeping in his neat bed and Kiba tangled in his bed sheets, snoring louder than Akamaru. She also found a note lightly resting on her pillow.

_Sakura. _

_Kiba thought someone broke in the room and kidnapped you after he saw the cracked television (which you're going to pay for, by the way)_.

_He wanted to go look for you with Akamaru- I think all those detective movies with dogs have been getting to his head, which isn't a good thing, mind you. _

_I have faith in you and I trust you to be back by tomorrow morning. _

_See you later._

_-Shikamaru_

She smiled at the note before tucking it into her drawer and turning off the lights. She almost didn't have the energy to go change into her pajamas, but somehow she found herself asleep in her bed with her pajamas on before she knew it.

.

* * *

.

The next morning was slightly less chaotic than usual. Shikamaru had remembered to set the alarm this time and they had woken up according to schedule- except for Kiba who had obviously overslept. Sakura and Shikamaru discovered that it took a bucket of ice cold water to wake him up from his sleep. They hastily got ready, each respectively taking their turns in the bathroom before getting ready to go out. The rain had finally cleared, and it was finally beautiful outside once agan. They waited outside for the rest of their friends to join them.

Sakura and her two friends took cover underneath the shade of one of the huge trees, evading the extremely bright sun. She sighed in frustration as she anxiously looked around, looking for one particular white eyed classmate. The heat was another thing that Sakura couldn't stand- she hoped Neji would arrive quickly so she could take cover in the fresh air-conditioned classroom. Her eyes brightened up as she spotted a familiar figure walking towards them.

"Good morning, Sakura-san." Shino's voice politely greeted her, as he calmly walked towards the trio. She observed the taller boy in amazement, wondering how he could stand to be in a full body raincoat in the middle of summer. He looked unaffected- he wasn't even sweating, but it was hard to tell when his eyes were shadowed by his quirky round sunglasses.

"Good morning Shino!" She said brightly, before curiously looking around. "Uh, is Neji with you?"

He looked a bit hesitant to answer her. "He didn't come back after last night." He answered her slowly. "But I would not be worried if I were you." He added, after seeing her worried face. "He does this often." Sakura briefly wondered about Neji-s night-time strolls, but the thought was immediately shoved aside as she took notice of an extremely irritated Gaara walking towards them. He nodded in greeting, his eyes outlined by heavy shadows that indicated heavy insomnia. She was about to ask him whether he knew anything about Neji when her attention was drawn to a furious looking Sasuke dragging Neji behind him. Naruto was stumbling along behind him, looking extremely anxious.

"Neji!" Sakura exclaimed. "What happened?" She asked worriedly, glancing at the extremely angry Uchiha.

"Your Neji here," Sasuke sneered. "Was found snooping outside of his dorm room."

"What's wrong with taking a miidnight stroll if you can't sleep?" Sakura defended, glaring at the Uchiha. "Don't act like you and Naruto didn't sleep in my room for an entire night, breaking the same rule!"

"Want me to be blunt?" Sasuke snarled, throwing the Hyuuga boy forwards. "What's wrong, is that we found him sleeping in a girl's bed in another dorm, both _naked._ Is that answer satisfying enough?" Sakura's face fell as her heart stopped beating for a moment. Surely she had misunderstood Sasuke. Surely everything was a misunderstanding. There was no way...

"It's all a m-mistake." She stammered, her big bright green eyes staring at him. "Right Neji?" For the first time, the Hyuuga did not look up to meet her gaze. She felt her heart drop down.

"… I'm sorry Sakura."

She wanted to cry right on the spot, but she wouldn't. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her weak. She had abandoned that long ago.

"I hope you're happy." She forced a smile on her face. "Even though you don't deserve it."

"No wait, Sakura listen to me-"

But Sakura was already happily skipping towards the school building.

"Why is she so happy?" Kiba inquired. Shikamaru observed her closely.

"She isn't. Take care of her, Kiba."

.

* * *

.

"Don't you have to go to class?"

Deidara curiously looked at the pink haired girl who had called him out less than twenty-minutes ago.

"I'll just deal with detention later." She said with a shrug. "I thought it would be nice to take a walk together,"

He rolled his eyes. "You must think I'm as dumb as you are. You never want to 'just take a walk'. Now tell me what's wrong with you." He had known her for a long time now- and he knew her better than most people. She had always had a hard time making friends, and Deidara had always been there for her as a close brother. He knew when something was bothering her, and he was certain it was something big this time.

"Nothing." She stubbornly said, and avoided his accusing blue eyes.

"Do I look like Tobi to you? I may be clumsy but I'm not an idiot Sakura. Now tell me why you asked me to meet you." He insisted, softening up a bit when she giggled at his remark about Tobi.

"You're too mean to Tobi." She lightly scolded him. "He's the second youngest member in the Akatsuki, you could cut him some slack y'know."

"I'm as mean to Tobi as you are mean to Kisame." Deidara informed her. "You torture that poor man. And it's not my fault Tobi can be so irritating and easy to make fun of!" It was a common fact within the members that Deidara and Tobi didn't get along almost as much as Kisame and Sakura didn't. Sakura had often speculated that the two were very similar- they were both childish and clumsy. Tobi had always looked up to Deidara, but for some reason the blonde had always disliked the younger boy.

"Who, Fish-chan? He loves me!" Sakuara mockingly gasped.

"Yes, especially your nicknames for him." Deidara dryly answered her, as she smirked. "But stop changing the subject Sakura. What's wrong with you?" His face turned serious. She sighed, knowing that there was no way that she would fool her friend.

"Deidara..." She hesitated. "I know this is kind of personal but... have you had a girlfriend?" She blurted out. He looked mildly surprised at her question, but recovered quickly as his expression morphed into something akin to amusement. He seemed all to happy to answer her question.

"Me?" He beamed. "I've had loads. I mean, what kind of girl could resist this face?" He said arrogantly, pointing at himself.

"A sane one." She retorted.

"That was a rhetoric question Sakura."

"I know."

"So why do you ask?"

"Have you ever been cheated on?" She monotonously asked, without looking at him. His eyes slightly widened in surprise once again at her sudden statement.

"Well yeah, I have, now that you ask." He said, scratching his head. "Loads of times, actually. But that's just life, and some people are greedy like that and want more than one person at their side." He eyed her carefully. "Did it happen to you as well?" She sighed for a moment, looking extremely sad.

"It's so complicated!" Sakura finally exploded, her face scrunching up in frustration. "We've never really had an official relationship, but he made it obvious that we were together... well kind of I guess. Ugh, if a boy asks if he can sleep in your bed, and hug and cuddle you all night, doesn't that mean he wants to be with you?"

"Did he ever kiss you?"

"…!"

Sakura's rambling abruptly stopped at his last statement. She looked up at him in realization.

"He didn't right?" Deidara said with a nod. "I thought so. That probably means he kind of wanted to be with you, but not in a serious way."

"Since when have you been such an expert?" She asked him sullenly.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked her skeptically. "I've always been an expert when it comes to women, Sakura. Just because you don't see me in action doesn't mean I'm not a lady killer." He winked at her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"He was caught naked in another girl's bed." She answered him, and he cringed.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Deidara wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders and gave her a half-hug. "Tell me who this fella is and I'll go punch the lights out of him for you."

"If that was the problem, I would've solved it on my own." Sakura snorted. "God knows I have a stronger fist than you do. I could beat the daylights out of him whenever... well... I could but..." She trailed off. The thought of hurting Neji made her sick to her stomach. She bit her lip in frustration.

"Don't worry, you deserve much better." Deidara said, and tightened his grip around her shoulders. "Somewhere along the lines, your Prince Charming is waiting for you."

She rolled her eyes at him. "God Deidara, you're so cheesy." She scowled and pushed him off, sending him crashing against a tree.

"Damnit Sakura-chan, what did I tell you about controlling your stupid inhuman strength?"

.

* * *

.

"You're lucky you're on time Haruno."

Sasuke didn't even look up as she quietly walked into the classroom for her detention. "I would've been forced to give you another one if you didn't." She took the time to finally clearly observe the man for the first time- he was a little bit taller than the Hyuuga boy. His skin was eerily flawless and pale, and unlike Itachi, it had no wrinkles. His eyes were a color of depthless onyx that she had never fully appreciated up until now, His lashes were long and framed his eyes in an elegant manner, dark raven locks perfectly framing his masculine face. She wondered how she had never realized how handsome he was up until now. Despite his cold demeanor, there was a certain softness about him that not many people saw.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke." She quietly greeted. "Call me Sakura. Why should you call me by my last name if I can't do the same to you?"

"Very well then." Sasuke sat down at his desk, and motioned for her to come over. She grinned, walking over. "Take a chair."

She hesitantly found a chair and made sure to loudly drag it across the room towards his desk, just to irritate him. Her grin widened as he sighed in frustration, finally looking up at her as he calmly set his pen down. "Sakura, you're being annoying." He stated, looking into her apple green eyes. "Just sit down. You will assist me in correcting today's tests, which you missed by the way."

"Oh great, can I give Ami an F?" She enthusiastically asked, her eyes gleaming as she took a seat across from him.

"No Sakura, that is against the rules." He answered her, his eyes averting to the piece of paper she was holding in her hand. "Although by the looks of it, she's going to flunk the test anyways." She giggled at his last statement and took a red marker. He shot her an amused look before correcting his own paper.

"Wrong... wrong... wrong again! Incorrect... nope... wow, I can't believe she got this one wrong! She really is much dumber than I thought." Sakura kept on commenting as she corrected Ami's paper. She didn't see Sasuke's face turn darker and darker with each word that escaped her mouth.

"Sakura, will you just shut the hell up and correct the test quietly?" Sasuke snapped and her mouth shut immediately.

"Sorry, Sasuke." She sheepishly apologized.

_Click._

"Did you hear that?" Sasuke's head snapped up. Sakura's followed suit, facing the source of the sound: the door.

"Is that..." Sakura was speechless for a moment. "No way." Sasuke abruptly stood up, listening carefully. The echoing sound of footsteps was heard in the hallway until it faded away. Sasuke quickly ran towards the door, cursing as he tried to twist the knob. Sakura's eyes widened when the door didn't budge.

"Hey! Let us out of here!" He yelled, only to be met with silence. "We're locked in," He said grimly, facing her horrified face.

"You're the teacher in charge of this classroom!" Sakura exclaimed. "Shouldn't you have the key to your own room?"

"You'd think so," He answered her bitterly. "But they don't trust us teachers with the keys. Only the janitor has them." He was tugging at the doorknob so viciously that Sakura was afraid he would-

_BAM!_

The tall boy flew backa few feet from the door, the now broken doorknob in his hands. Sakura looked absolutely horrified, her gaze switching back and forth between the object in his hands and the door without a knob.

They were doomed.

And not to mention, she thought he was a complete moron.

.

* * *

.

"I promise you'll thank me for this Sakura," Kiba said grinning, as he ran out of the building and into the grounds, Shikamaru on his heels. His boyish grin widened as he flung the keys up in the air.

"How troublesome... why did you involve me in this?" Shikamaru muttered, as he tried to catch up with the fast boy. He panted as Kiba finally came to a stop, laughing hysterically. When he calmed down, the canine boy proudly patted his friend on the back.

"Because you're the only one smart enough to steal the janitor's keys and put them back as if no one ever touched them." Kiba logically answered. Shikamaru was actually surprised that his friend had actually thought it through so well. Kiba was not exactly known for his intelligence.

"Right. And why did I let you involve me in this again?" Shikamaru asked, looking exasperated.

"I promised to buy you a new shogi board."

"Fair enough."


	6. What It Is To Burn

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

"_Right. And why did I let you involve me in this again?" Shikamaru asked._

"_I promised to buy you a new shogi board."_

"_Fair enough."_

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER SIX**

**What It Is To Burn**

"_Like a bad star,_

_I'm falling faster to her, _

_She's the only one who knows,_

_What it is __to burn."_

_._

_._

_._

"Sasuke."

"Hn."

"I am locked inside a school classroom with _you_."

"Aa."

"This is a nightmare."

"…"

Sakura let out a cry of frustration.

"Aren't you part of the Akatsuki or something?" Sasuke asked her accusingly. "Can't you do anything?"

"Oh yes, because me being part of the Akatsuki must make me a miracle worker." Sakura replied sarcastically, pushing a pink lock behind her ear. "Stop kidding around Sasuke, it's not like I can miraculously conjure the key. Or maybe I have super powers and I can fly out the window!" He simply rolled his eyes at her immature words.

"Stop acting so childish," Sasuke snapped at her. She glared back at him, and they silently stared at each other for a minute before she answered back again.

"You're the one who's being childish." She shot back. "I'm tired of all you people expecting me to be capable of anything just because I'm in the Akatsuki. We're not invincible, we're not superhuman- except Kisame maybe. And Kakuzu too. And probably Hidan, after all his freakish cult things. And Tobi too, because there's no way anyone in the world can be so clumsy. And- wait that's not the point!" If the situation hadn't been so serious, Sasuke would have actually been amused at how the petite girl was jumping around so furiously. "The point is that we can't do everything!"

"Where did all that inhuman strength people talk about go?" Sasuke asked her with a glare.

"Well first of all smartass, if I actually did knock the walls down, I'd get sued." Sakura pointed out. "Second of all, I do not waste my energy on something like _this. _And I could've simply picked the lock, but no, _someone_ had to go tear the doorknob off the stupid door." She gave him a pointed look. Sasuke sighed in frustration and sat down in his chair, chucking the broken doorknob across the room. Sakura barely dodged it, letting out a cry of surprise as it hit the spot next to her head on the wall. "Watch where you throw things or I'll be throwing you next," She warned, picking up the doorknob and throwing it back. It whizzed past his ear, nailing the wall.

Sasuke jumped, startled as he turned around to look at the object now deeply embedded into the wall. "Jesus woman!" He snapped out. "Hasn't anyone ever told you to watch that strength of yours?"

"Oh yeah, loads of people have." Sakura commented, waving a hand carelessly in the air. Sasuke grumbled under his breath before turning to face the window. There was a minute of silence, before she turned back to face him. "What happens now?" She quietly asked, and he found himself speechless for once. He could not think of an answer to give her, but fortunately she did not seem to be expecting one either.

Sasuke found himself in a surprisingly comfortable silence with the petite pink haired girl as the minutes passed. He glanced over at her small, but lean figure, rocking back and forth as she leaned against a desk, nervously biting her nails. Her pale pink locks were long and framed her small, pale face which was scrunched up into a pensive frown. Her eyes were a shade of green he could not describe- and he found himself staring into those big, round orbs, shining with anxiety. His eyes snapped down to the lower half of her face as she bit her plump, full lips (he had never noticed how pink they were) and he found himself imagining-

"SASUKE-TEMEEEEE! WHERE ARE YOU?"

The Uchiha was startled out of his alarming thoughts when he heard his best friend's voice shout out from the other side of the door. "Naruto, is that you?" Sakura called out first before Sasuke could say anything, and the footsteps abruptly stopped.

"Sakura-chan, is that you? What are you doing in Sasuke's classroom at this time?" Naruto asked curiously. "Is the teme even there?"

"Detention gone bad." Sasuke dryly commented. "Someone must've locked us in here."

"And Sasuke here broke the doorknob, so we can't get out. Can you try unlocking the door from the other side?" Sakura called out.

"Sure Sakura-chan." Naruto said uncertainly. Sakura heard the doorknob turn viciously a couple of times, before the rattling stopped. "No can do Sakura-chan... it's kinda stuck."

Sasuke decided that Naruto would never stop surprising him with his stupidity. "I never would've guessed, Naruto." He called out sarcastically. "Of course it's stuck you idiot, it's locked." He sometimes wondered how he hadn't turned into an idiot himself, after hanging out with the dumbest person he knew for so long.

"I knew that!" Naruto argued back. Sasuke's eyes snapped towards the door as he picked up the faint sound of footsteps quickly running towards his classroom. He swore he heard someone whispering on the other side of the door. "Actually.. uh..." Naruto sounded doubtful. "Well I'll go get the janitor... or something. I'll be right back!" Sasuke was certain this time- it was the unmistakable sound of two pairs of footsteps running down the hallway, away from his classroom.

Sakura sighed as the footsteps faded away once again. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke, who had his back towards her as he looked outside the window. He was observing Naruto running away frantically with Kiba right behind him across the grounds. They seemed to argue over something, as an extremely annoyed looking Shikamaru joined them.

"Sasuke?" She inquired, stepping closer towards him. She slowly raised a frail looking arm and to tap him on his shoulder- her fingers had barely brushed his broad shoulder when he snatched her arm and whirled around. Startled by his sudden forceful act, she lost her balance and fell over to the floor, taking him down with her to her little trip towards the wooden floor. She let out a gasp as her back hit the floor- when she opened her eyes again, she found his body entwined with hers, their faces mere centimeters apart. "Sasuke..." She breathed quietly, his eyes unwavering as he stared into her own.

Before she knew what was happening, he swiftly leaned down and captured her soft delicate pink lips into his rough chapped ones. Her mind abruptly turned into scrambled eggs. She unconsciously snaked her arms around his neck as he gently cupped her face with one hand, supporting himself with the other so so he didn't crush her delicate frame. Their mouths heatedly moved together in unison, slowly, passionately. Her closed eyes snapped open when she felt his tongue begging entrance to her mouth- and she didn't know what she was thinking, but she didn't deny him. She briefly wondered how Sasuke was such a good kisser before her mind turned to mush again.

But then, she remembered that he was her teacher, and she was his student- this had to stop, but she didn't have the will to do it, god help her-

_Knock knock. _

They both resurfaced, both breathless as a knock on the door interrupted them. Sasuke gently rested his forehead against hers as he stared into her flushed face. He locked his gaze onto hers for a moment, not saying a word.

"Teme? Sakura-chan? Are you guys still in there?" Naruto's loud voice interrupted once again.

"Y-yeah Naruto. We're in here. Just give us a second." Sakura shakily called back, finally breaking free of his gaze. Sasuke stared at her for another minute, before finally slowly getting off of her. He stood up and offered her a hand. "Thanks," She whispered, avoiding his unwavering eyes. She quickly regained her composure and rushed to the door. "Did you get the keys Naruto?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're right here." Naruto confirmed, and another familiar click sound was heard as he unlocked the door. When it finally opened, Sakura bolted out of the classroom as quickly as she could.

"Thanks Naruto, see you later!" She hollered, as she disappeared out of sight. Sasuke and sat back down on his chair, running a hand through his disheveled hair. Naruto took one look at Sasuke's messy appearance and raised an eyebrow at his friend. Sasuke glared back at him, waiting for one of Naruto's dumb remarks.

"You know teme, I'm not as dumb as I look." The blonde pointed out. "Even Kiba would notice what happened here, and he's dumber than I am."

"Must be obvious if an idiot like you noticed." Sasuke replied, nervously looking around. Naruto shot him a concerned look, clearly uncomfortable with the way his friend had lost his composure. Sasuke seemed to think for a moment, before saying, "I have to tell her that this was all an accident."

Naruto uneasily looked at his friend. "You can't _tell_ her that," He told him, sounding completely exasperated. Naruto knew he wasn't exactly booksmart and compared to Sasuke he was extremely dull, but he liked to think that Sasuke was even more hopeless when it came to dealing with girls, which went against Naruto's made up rule that the Uchihas were good at anything. "Listen, I may not be the sharpest kunai out of the bunch, but I know for sure that you don't freakin' kiss a girl and tell her it was an accident."

"She'll have to deal with it." Sasuke's voice was cold. "Because it's the truth."

"You'll only hurt her if you do that."

"What do I care? She's just like all those other shallow girls anyways."

"She is NOT like those other girls and you know it!" Naruto snarled so viciously that a look of surprise briefly overcame Sasuke's face. "You know she's not like those other pathetic girls. Why do you keep on denying it? Actually, you'd be lucky if she even took you. A bastard like you doesn't even deserve a girl like Sakura-chan." The blue eyed boy glared at Sasuke for one more minute before he stomped out of the classroom, leaving Sasuke extremely confused.

.

* * *

.

"Back so soon, Sakura-chan?" Kiba teased as the pinkette rushed into the dorm. Sakura looked up to see that the canine boy was watching the sports channel on the newly repaired TV (that Deidara had rightfully paid for). She stopped herself from blushing before answering him.

"Shut it, Kiba." She sullenly said, lowering her gaze to the floor. Kiba shot her a concerned look before turning off the TV. He turned around to face her.

"Why the depressed face? Did Sasuke kick you out of his classroom?" Kiba joked, but did not miss how her shoulders tensed up at the mentioned name. "Hey Sakura-chan, I was just kidding... what's up?" He patted the empty space next to him on the couch, motioning for her to sit down. She walked over and let herself sink into the comfortable couch with a deep sigh.

"He..." The words got stuck in her throat. "Sasuke, he..."

"Back so soon Sakura?" Shikamaru interrupted her mid sentence as the door the bedroom creaked open, revealing a half naked Shikamaru drying his hair at the doorway, his brown hair down from his usual ponytail.

Kiba let out a whistle as Sakura giggled. "You look good with your hair down," She commented, happy for the distraction. "You should keep it down more often."

"Too troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, sitting down next to Kiba. "You look like you've got a pole lodged up your backside Sakura. It's quite noticable. Why don't you enlighten us?"

"Why thank you Shikamaru, you look quite amazing as well." Sakura said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Nothing's up. I just got back from detention, not a party. You wouldn't look too happy either." Kiba shot the other boy a knowing grin, before he proceeded in nudging the girl with his elbow.

"So did anything happen?" He teased again. "You know, you and Uchiha Sasuke... in a classroom together..."

"Do I have **I KISSED UCHIHA SASUKE **stamped across my abnormally large forehead?" Sakura blurted out. Kiba choked on the water he was sipping and Shikamaru simply raised an eyebrow in response. The scene would have been comical if only Sakura hadn't been so upset.

"You did _what_?" Kiba burst out, as he jumped up on his feet, spilling the water all over Shikamaru's barely dried hair. The genius let out an irritated mutter. Kiba looked like he was about to scream something else when the phone in their room rang, stopping him from whatever he was about to say. Shikamaru reached over and picked up the receiver.

"Hello- oh good afternoon Neji." Sakura's eyes widened as Shikamaru nodded at her. "What can I do for you?" He waited for an answer. "Yes, well I'm afraid Sakura isn't here right now. Last time I checked she was in detention." Shikamaru nodded. "I'll let her know. Sorry, I have to go now- got some dog trouble here. I'll talk to you later." Kiba scowled at Shikamaru's jab. "He's been calling all day," Shikamaru said, hanging up the phone. "Shouldn't you talk to him at least?"

"I say let him get what he deserves." Kiba piped up. "He doesn't deserve to even go _near_ Sakura-chan anymore."

"I don't feel like talking to him anymore." Sakura confessed to them. "He... he led me on."

"And we were all there to witness that." Kiba told her reassuringly. "I hate to say it, but... I think he was just using you Sakura-chan. And when he realized you weren't going to give him any, he dumped you for another girl." She knew that Kiba was probably just trying to comfort her, but the words didn't hurt any less.

"Don't listen to him." Shikamaru muttered, as she bit her lip. Kiba shot him a glare.

"I'm fine." Sakura forced a small smile. "At least I've learned a lesson from this, haven't I?"

"Sakura..."

"I'll be in the bedroom okay guys? If Neji calls again later, tell him I'm sleeping." Before they could answer, she quickly rushed into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She heard Kiba protest before Shikamaru shut him up.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she leaned against the wooden door, wondering how her summer had suddenly turned so complicated.

.

* * *

.

"Sakuraaaaa-chan, it's time to wake up!"

If there was another thing that Sakura had learned throughout her time spent at Konoha, it was that she did not like waking up to Kiba's voice in the morning. His voice was too loud for her delicate ears to endure first thing in the early hours, and she was definitely not an overall morning person. She grumbled sleepily, as she cracked an eye open, before diving under the thick covers.

"I'm not feeling well." She murmured, closing her eyes again. Of course, she felt fine, but anything was a good excuse to get away from confronting Sasuke that morning. She didn't particularly feel like facing Neji either. It just sounded like a recipe for a bad, bad day. She groaned before rolling over against the wall.

Shikamaru knowingly shot a glance at Sakura's form under the covers. "Kiba, let her be." Sakura sometimes thought that Shikamaru was the most sane man she had ever met in her life. Then again, at times she thought he was too intelligent to even be human. Kiba opened his mouth to protest before Shikamaru held up a hand to stop him. Kiba nodded with an understanding sigh.

"We'lll see you later." Kiba said unsurely. "Get some rest." She heard the door to the click shut as her two roommates exited the bedroom, leaving Sakura alone to contemplate over her thoughts. Summer school was progressing quite terribly, she thought. Crushing on not one, but _two _boys? Kissing her _teacher_? It was all getting way too much for her to handle. She had come into this experience considering it a punishment, hoping to leave as soon as possible...

But did she even want to leave anymore?

.

* * *

.

"Haruno Sakura."

Sasuke looked up from the attendance sheet as he went through his daily roll call. "Is Haruno Sakura absent?"

"She's sick," Kiba called out, not meeting his teacher's eyes. "It's quite terrible, really. She uh, kept me up all night with her sneezing and sniffling." He lied. He could almost imagine Shikamaru rolling his eyes at his terrible lying.

"Very well." Sasuke said with a sigh, setting his clipboard down. "We can't have a sick student running around. I'll make sure she gets some medicine." Kiba panicked, looking around. Sakura wasn't sick at all, and her cover would be blown if Sasuke actually went to check up on her.

"Oh no, there's no need for that uh, sensei." Kiba rushed, knowing that if Sakura wouldn't be very happy with him if Sasuke barged into their dormitory. "She said she was feeling better before I left, and she didn't need any medicine." Sasuke shot him a pointed look. Without giving Kiba a chance to say anything else, he said, "Class president, take over." He swiftly walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him. He knew Sakura was simply avoiding him- he quickened his pace as he walked down the hallway.

He stopped when he reached the door to her room. He raised his hand and hesitated, before knocking on the door. When there was no answer, he knocked once again. He cursed under his breath before turning the doorknob, finding it unlocked. It didn't surprise him in the least, considering who her roommates were.

"Sakura."

The pink haired girl's eyes snapped open as her heart skipped her beat when she heard her name being called by the very person she had been trying to avoid all morning. She quickly delved under the covers of her bed sheets and feigned sleep when the door to her room opened. She could only pray that her heavy breathing was enough to conceal her pounding heart.

"Sakura?" He called again.

Sasuke slowly walked over towards her bed and sat down at the very edge. Her eyes were closed, hiding her unusually bright green eyes as her chest rose up and down with every breath she took. Her pink hair was messily sprawled across her pillow- an indication that she had clearly not left her bed all morning. "Wake up." He waited for an answer. Sakura silently prayed that he would fall for her act. "I know you're avoiding me." His voice was steady, calm. She braced herself for his next words. She waited for him to blow her cover, to tell her to stop pretending to sleep-

"It was all an accident. I hope you didn't jump to the conclusion that any feelings were involved."

It was heartbreaking how determined he sounded.

Sakura didn't know why it hurt so badly- but she didn't want to let the tears fall. It took all her strength to not break her charade. It was all too much for her to handle- when she felt those familiar rough lips fall upon hers once again. She couldn't stop herself this time as her eyes widened in surprise, staring at the man who had just told her that kissing her had been a mistake. He was repeating his 'mistake' all over again, and she didn't understand why. She felt his lips leave hers as fast as they had touched them as he sat back up.

"Sa...Sasuke?" She breathed, as he jumped off her. She stared into his unreadable dark, widened orbs. It was probably a good idea to pretend like she wasn't aware of what had just happened.

"I..." He looked away from her. "I was just checking up on you. Kiba told me you were sick."

He gently put up a hand to her forehead. "You're burning up." He commented, but she knew that it wasn't because she was sick. She blushed a color of deep red before jerking her head away from his warm touch.

"I'm feeling fine." She said, looking away from him. "You can go back to class now."

"Stop being so stubborn." He told her. "Get some more sleep."

She found herself feeling drowsy once again at his words. She hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before, for obvious reasons- but she was feeling dizzy now, and everyone was spinning, and she just wanted to close her eyes- "Hey Sasuke?" She asked quietly, giving into her drowsiness as her eyelids slowly closed. "Was yesterday... really an accident?" She waited for him to answer, but when none came, she opened her eyes again, only to find her room empty once again.

She knew she had to call someone now. It took all her will to get up from her bed and reach for the phone.

"Hello pig? I need your help."

.

* * *

.

Sasuke didn't know why she was affecting him so much; but when she had asked him that question, he had felt his heartbeat skip for the first time in his life. Why hadn't he answered her? Why couldn't he tell her that it was an accident when she was awake and conscious to hear his words? What was that girl doing to him?

"Hey teme, where have you been?" Naruto inquired, as Sasuke stepped foot into the school building. "Your class is going insane inside."

"I needed to go check on Haruno. She's sick again."

Naruto stared at him expectantly. "And what happened?" He pressed, as his friend quickened his pace towards his classroom.

"We... talked."

"About?"

"About yesterday."

"And?"

"I kissed her."

"Oh." Naruto made a face. "And I guess you told her that was an accident as well." He rolled his blue eyes. Sasuke decided that he did not feel comfortable talking about girls with Naruto. The blonde was way too nosy for Sasuke's liking.

"She was asleep."

Naruto snorted in indignation. "Well even better!" He exclaimed. "God Sasuke, sometimes you can be so freaking dense. You have no emotional experience at all. I was right when I told you that you were emotionally frigid! It's so obvious that you _like _her, teme." Sasuke grimaced at Naruto's words.

"I have a fiancée." Sasuke stated coldly. "Sakura is annoying."

"I found out your fiancée is from an arranged marriage." Naruto said accusingly, and Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I knew it wasn't a normal relationship." Sasuke shot his friend a questioning glance. "I contact Dad Uchiha," Naruto replied with a wink. "I bet you didn't tell me because then I would be right about you not being able to get girls. She's only with you because she's being forced. I know you have a bunch of fan girls and stuff, but they'd probably all run away when they find out what a terrible boyfriend you'd be." Sasuke sighed, knowing that there was no hiding things from Naruto for long. That boy could find out about anything if he really set his heart into it.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. "I do not like Sakura, no matter what you say. It's your stupid head making things up. She's loud, annoying, irritating. I hate how she's always cheerful, I hate her loud voice, and I hated kissing her! It was all a mistake, so get it into your dense head that I do _not_ like her."

Sasuke waited for the dobe to answer, but the blonde was too busy looking behind Sasuke's shoulder. He didn't need to turn around to see who had joined in on their conversation last minute.

"Hi guys," Sakura said in a cheerful voice. "Lovely morning isn't it? I was feeling better so I decided to come to class last minute. I'll see you around." Before Sasuke could gather up the courage to stop her, she had disappeared into the classroom.

"You screwed up big time Sasuke."

.

* * *

.

"Hey Sakura-chan, I thought you were sick!" Kiba's bright face greeted her as she took a seat next to him. She could feel Neji's gaze on her as she uncomfortably sat down. She forced a grin onto her face as she faced her eager friend. "Where's Sasuke? I thought he was looking for you."

"He's out talking with Naruto." Sakura said with a bitter tone. Kiba frowned and opened his mouth to say something when the classroom's attention was averted towards someone shouting in the hallway. "What's going on?" Kiba asked in a whisper.

"You're not allowed here!" Sasuke's angry voice called out. The door burst open, revealing a face Sakura was very familiar with. Sai- the boy with the creepy smile and eerily handsome features was standing at the doorway, looking directly at the confused pink haired girl.

"You're coming with me today Ugly. I'm sorry."

Before anyone could stop him, he ran over towards Sakura with unmatchable speed and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the classroom. She was ready to punch him in the face when her eyes met Sasuke's gaze, and she decided that anywhere was better than here at the moment as she let herself be dragged by the mysterious man who kept on appearing in her life. "Sorry," Sai apologized with another one of his smiles. "Urgent business." She didn't object.

Sasuke grabbed his jacket and quickly ran out of the classroom, following the couple. Kiba wordlessly stared after the open door, wondering what the hell had just happened.


	7. Sun

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_Sasuke grabbed his jacket and quickly ran out of the classroom, following the couple. Kiba wordlessly stared after the open door, wondering what the hell had just happened._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Sun**

"_Sleep well, darling,_

_I'm desperate to say, 'Now I need you more than ever',_

_But all I could say was 'Goodnight'…"_

_._

_._

_._

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Sakura asked her captor as they ran down the hallway, wincing at his tight grip on her thin wrist. That was probably going to bruise later, she noted as she stumbled at his fast pace. "Sai, you're hurting me."

"I'm glad to see you remember my name." The said boy calmly answered her. He didn't seem out of breath despite the remarkable speed they were running at. They had almost reached the tall iron gates now. "You probably remembered it cause I'm so handsome. A big contrast to your ugly face." She scowled at his arrogant reply.

"You wish," She said with a snort.

"It's not very lady-like to snort." Sai commented, glancing back at her for a moment before looking ahead again. "Then again, it's all your manly features that make you so ugly." Sakura looked furious, tired of all the insults he kept on throwing at her. She tried looking back, but was stopped when Sai tugged at her wrist, making her stumble again.

"I wouldn't look back if I were you." Sai murmured. "Mr. Handsome seems to be after your ugly face."

Overcome with curiosity, she briefly looked back and caught a glimpse of Sasuke running after them. "Okay Sai, you've made your point here. Now tell me why you need me." Sakura said, trying to quicken her pace so he didn't have to drag her behind. A convertible car was waiting for them, engine ready to go as Sai shoved her inside. He finally released his hold on her as he got in the driver's seat, smirking at Sasuke as the car rapidly drove away.

Sasuke cursed as he watched the expensive car drive away from him. He took out his phone and dialed a familiar number. "Naruto? Yes I need your car. No, I won't crash it. They keys are where? What kind of stupid person hides their keys under the tire? Fine, fine. See you later, thanks." He ran towards the eye-catching orange car (yes, it was terribly embarassing but he would have to endure it) and looked under the front left tire. Sure enough, the keys were right where Naruto said they'd be, hanging off a miniature ramen keychain.

He wasted no time in grabbing the keys, unlocking the car as he hopped into the driver's seat, starting the engine. He tried to ignore the disturbing smell inside the car as he drove towards the direction in which Sai's car had disappeared, and knew it wouldn't take long to find the vehicle- such expensive cars weren't hard to spot in this city.

A couple of miles ahead, Sakura turned around to face Sai whose eyes were concentrated on the road ahead of him. "Are you going to tell me where you're taking me now?"

"I have orders." Sai stated, driving faster as she nervously clutched her armrest. "Does it scare you that I'm driving so fast?" He quietly observed, as her knuckles turned white. She merely nodded, unable to talk as she remembered one particular bad experience that had scarred her for life. He offered her no words of sympathy, nor did he slow down but in a way he had understood how she felt. "Sleep, it'll make things easier on the both of us." He told her, and she closed her eyes tightly, trying to sleep despite her anxiety in the car.

When her breathing was even and he was positive she was sleeping, he quietly reached over towards her pocket and stealthily pulled out her cellphone. "Let's see what secrets you're hiding." He murmured, switching the phone settings to loudspeaker so he could hear her voice mail.

"_Hi, this is Sakura speaking! I'm not available at the moment but feel free to message me after the beep!"_

_"Sakura. It's Neji. I was hoping to clear some things up about the other day. Could we talk? Call me back when you get this message." _

Sai curiously looked at the phone in his hand. "Haruno Sakura, you should delete your messages. This could be used against you if it falls into the wrong hands."

_"Forehead, this is Ino, your beautiful, sexy best friend. So I was thinking of flying up to Leaf this... Thursday maybe? Well holler back at your bitch and let me know ASAP!"_

_"Sakura, it's me, Haku. I heard you got expelled today- and what the heck happened to the principal's office? Did you do that? Anyways I hope you'll keep in touch. Good luck wherever you're going." _

_"Sakuraaaaaa-chan, this is your sexy friend, Deidara! We have a meeting tomorrow, and I don't care if you have school or something. Just skip it, it's not like you go to school anyways. Well grumpy old Kisame is telling me to get off the phone now. See ya later!" _

_"Hey love, it's Idate. How have you been? Well I tried calling you but your phone is off. I thought we should get out, go on a date this Sunday, if you're free. Well let me know! Love you!"_

These messages dated back to a couple months, Sai noted. He briefly wondered what those messages could mean, when he decided it was none of his business. He had been hired for the sole purpose of bringing the pink haired girl to his client- he wasn't supposed to meet her beforehand, but he couldn't help but visit her a couple of times prior to see what kind of person he would be kidnapping.

Sasuke cursed as he entered the busy streets of the city, looking around in the traffic. He had lost them, and he didn't see how he could find them again in this huge city now. He knew what he had to do now, as he pulled out his phone once more and dialed a number he hadn't called in ages.

"Kakashi, I need your help."

.

* * *

.

"Sai... where are we?" Sakura groggily asked, trying to make out her surroundings.

"Glad to see you're finally awake Ugly." She found herself being carried in Sai's arms. However, she was abruptly dropped the moment he spoke those words. She let out a surprised cry of pain as she rubbed her elbow. She looked around to see she was in some sort of office, but it was too dark to see the details- the only source of light were the silent rays peeking in through the closed curtains.

"Sai you asshole!" She screeched, getting back onto her feet. She almost fell over once again- but this time her fall was stopped by a strong pair of arms.

"We meet again, miss."

She whirled around to face the stranger she had met once in the men's bathroom a couple days ago, when she had been trapped alone with Itachi. She furiously tried to fight off the blush that rose to her cheeks as she thought of that moment. She squinted, trying to see his face clearly with the little light that was provided inside the room.

"K-Kabuto-san?" She stammered, looking into his eyes shielded by his round rimmed glasses. He pushed them back up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

"I am pleased to see that this time we are meeting in a proper place. In my opinion, the men's bathroom is not quite an appropriate place for two people to meet." His smile was pleasant and friendly, but for some reason it sickened her to the stomach. His voice sounded innocuous, but she was good at detecting hidden threats by now. "Haruno Sakura." Kabuto continued, and her eyes snapped up to observe him. "I have been looking forward to meeting you properly for awhile now. I am pleased to finally meet you."

"Do you even know me?" She couldn't keep the snarl out of her voice this time. "I'm sorry, I was not having a good day today, and congratulations, you both made it a lot worse. What is wrong with everyone? I mean, damn Sai, I know you think I'm Ugly and everything, but isn't this taking it a bit too far?"

"I'm not that shallow Ugly." Sai replied, mocking her with his cheerfulness. "I was hired to do this."

"Sai, I thank you for your services. You are free to go now," Kabuto softly said. "I will be honest with you Sakura, I am not at the top right now. There is someone higher than me who has ordered for your abduction. After all, I cannot take credit for something that I am not responsible for."

"How many people are in on this?" Sakura asked with a groan.

"This is when I leave." Sai said with a bow, and disappeared out the door.

"If you're doing this to blackmail the Akatsuki, it's not going to work. Trust me."

"_Au contraire_, Haruno Sakura. We just want you to share some information with us."

"That's not going to work either."

"We'll see about that, Sakura-san."

She sighed, thinking that this was not turning out to be a good day at all.

.

* * *

.

Sasuke panted as he ran across the street into the alleyway Kakashi had told him about over the phone. Not many people knew (and he planned to keep it that way) that Kakashi and Sasuke had actually known each other for a long time now- he had always been a family friend. and Kakashi had another job that not many people knew of. Sasuke never knew why, and he never really wanted to know, but Kakashi had a way of knowing things. All sorts of things.

A sign caught his eye, as he quickly read the letters carved into metal.

_Kabuto's Medical Clinic. _

It suddenly hit him- Kabuto had been his supervisor when he had been working under a man named Orochimaru- dark times that Sasuke did not want to think back on. This was definitely no coincidence. His hand was on the door handle, ready to open the door when it swung open.

"You," He growled, facing the very boy who had taken Sakura captive less than an hour ago. Sai looked mildly surprised before smiling at him and walking away. "Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke growled, forcefuly grabbing the other boy's arm. "Tell me where Sakura is. Who sent you? What is your purpose?"

Sai looked at him strangely. "You ask a lot of questions. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

Sasuke was ready to beat the living daylights of this boy, when an ear splitting scream came from inside the building. "You better hurry," Sai told him. Sasuke hesitated for a second before letting go of Sai's arm and rushing into the clinic.

"I'll get you soon enough."

Sai did not answer him. He merely gave him a smile, and stood still, even as the door slammed shut.

.

* * *

.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke burst into the room, his eyes rounding in horror as Sakura lay on the floor, curled up into a fetal position. She was heavily sweating, as convulsions racked her body. Sasuke felt like he was watching a scene from a horror movie- he froze, not knowing what to do.

"Ah Sasuke-kun." A delighted voice came from the shadows. "It's like a friendly reunion!"

"Cut the crap Kabuto." Sasuke hissed. "What the hell have you done to her?"

Kabuto smiled pleasantly, holding up an empty syringe. He handled it slowly, almost mockingly. "You remember how Orochimaru-sama was extremely interested in poisons? We have developed several extremely effective toxins since you left. Sakura-san here is just helping me experiment with our newest one. She... ah... wasn't giving us the information we needed, so we thought she could help us in some other way."

"Well get her out of it!" Sasuke said, trying to shake the girl, holding her up in his arms. She wasn't responding anymore, and his head started spinning with thoughts of what he would do if she died. She couldn't die, she was too stubborn to die-

The door suddenly burst open, revealing three cloaked figures. Sasuke immediately recognized them by their familiar black cloaks, with intricate red clouds; the Akatsuki. He recognized all three of them- two of them were the ones who had interrupted their lunch at the expensive sushi restaurant when the Hyuuga had paid- and the other was the blue skinned man whom Sakura had been with that night when Sasuke had attended the teachers night out.

"How... did you get here?" Sasuke looked utterly bewildered now, not knowing whether to be amazed or feel relieved.

"Trackers in our rings, yeah." The blonde spoke, tilting his straw hat up. "Each memeber is required to have one, in case of danger."

"How would you know if one of you is in danger?"

"Well if we revealed all our secrets, we wouldn't be the most secretive organization around, don't you think so?" Deidara chuckled.

"Dumb Pinky." Kisame grunted. "What was she thinking, letting herself be dragged along to a place like this?"Sasuke quietly agreed with the other man in his head.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Kabuto said warmly. "I see you know my new friend here."

"Oh, you are _so_ going down-" Deidara made a move to attack him when Kisame slammed his arm forward onto the wall, successfully blocking Deidara's way. "Don't stop me Kisame!" He growled at the blue man. "We've got to kill this bastard!"

"Think before you act, you dolt." Kisame snapped at his partner. "Hasn't all this time in the Akatsuki taught you anything? We have no time to fight- we have to get Sakura out of here as soon as possible." Deidara dropped his offensive stance, his gaze shifting towards the pink haired girl who had grown still now. "We don't know what he injected her with, but it seems to be getting worse by the minute."

Kabuto's smile had long disappeared now. It was replaced with a frown, as he clicked his tongue. "Now that just wont do." He commented, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I can't let you go without a fight. It would go against my job description."

"Uchiha!" Kisame barked. "Take Pinky to the hospital, quickly. We'll take care of him here." Sasuke was about to protest- he hated feeling useless, but stopped when Kisame shot him a murderous glare. Collecting the pink haired girl in his arms, he gave them a nod before running out the door as fast as his long legs would take him. The last thing he heard before shutting the door was Deidara yell as he charged at Kabuto. He didn't dare turn back.

"C'mon Sakura, hold on." He murmured, as her weak hand found his shirt. He felt her fingertips dig into his shirt as her eyes slightly opened. He carefully set her in the car before quickly slipping into the driver's seat, turning on the engine and zooming down towards the nearest hospital he could find.

.

* * *

.

"I have an emergency!" He shouted, running into the hospital. It effectively caught the attention of everyone in the room. At once, a nurse was at his side, glacing at the girl in his arms.

"What seems to be the emergency?"

Sasuke panicked. "I don't know, she's poisoned, and I don't know what it is and I don't know if she's dying-" The nurse held up a hand to silence him. She calmly motioned him into another room, nodding as he laid her down on the bed. She told Sasuke to wait for a minute while she went and called her doctors. The minutes couldn't pass fast enough as they finally had Sakura rushed into the emergency room.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to wait here." The nurse said to the extremely fidgety boy, who anxiously glanced at the pink haired girl. He could only watch as the doors shut in front of him.

The white walls were suffocating. Sasuke looked around as he ran his hands through his hair, which was something he found himself doing a lot these days. He didn't know how long he stood there, and didn't even notice when the other three members of the Akatsuki joined him. They seemed perfectly fine, and he didn't question them as they joined him in his silence.

Sasuke felt to sick to his stomach as he thought that if Sakura died right now, the last words she would've heard from him would be his rant about how he found her annoying. When had he started getting so attached to the girl? His palms started to sweat. She had simply been an annoying student, annoying acquaintance, but now... the thought of losing her put everything into a whole new perspective.

She had started out as a simply annoying student.

She then evolved into a simply annoying acquaintance.

Then, somehow, no matter how impossible it sounded, a simply annoying _friend_.

And finally... after that kiss, everything between them had changed, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. His heartbeat quickened at the thought of their kiss again, and he tried to place the warm feeling that was blossoming within him. His fists clenched in his lap as he pictured the girl fighting for her life right now- what had he done to help her? He was weak as he had been years ago when Itachi had tried to slaughter their entire family.

He glanced over towards the trio who was waiting at his side, and was frustrated to see absolutely no reactions. Didn't they care for her?

Sasuke could only look back at the closed door and pray that the little girl he had begun to develop feelings for would pull through.

.

* * *

.

Sakura's eyes slowly blinked open as she finally regained consciousness.

She was startled to find herself in a blindingly white room, surrounded by a number of doctors. She tried to remember the last thing that had happened, and she could vaguely recall Sasuke holding her in his arms. She faintly smiled as she remembered the warm feeling of his arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe, as if no one could harm her-

What was she thinking? Sakura wasn't supposed to think that _Sasuke_ made her feel safe. Sasuke was just her irritating teacher who she never seemed to get along with. She couldn't forget the words he had spoken about her right before Sai had taken her. She shook her head. No, there was no way anything would ever work out between them.

He was just her teacher, she thought.

She was only his student, he thought.

But both couldn't deny the strange warmth that radiated from within their hearts whenever they thought of one another.


	8. Here In Your Arms

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_But both couldn't deny the strange warmth that radiated from within their hearts whenever they thought of one another._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**Here (In Your Arms)**

"_Our lips can touch… here…_

_Where you are the one, the one that lies close to me,_

_Whispers, 'Hello, I missed you quite terribly',_

_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly,_

_That there's no place else I could be but here in your arms…"_

_._

_._

_._

Sasuke sighed in relief as the doors to the emergency room burst open. "How is she?" He quickly asked, as the three other men joined his side.

"She's doing extremely well." The doctor said with a smile. "The poison injected into her wasn't exactly fatal, but it was very painful to her internally. If she had been too weak, her mind would have not endured the pain and it might have left her some mental scars." The doctor looked very satisfied with himself. "Luckily this young lady was strong enough to pull through, and we made it in time to extract the poison from her blood."

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled, but the medic did not miss the light smirk gracing the young Uchiha's lips. Deidara erupted into a fit of laughter, perhaps from all the tension, and even Sasori seemed to have a slight smile on his face.

"I knew she wasn't weak, the brat." Kisame commented, as Deidara erupted into another fit of laughter, sounding almost relieved. Sasuke silently agreed with the tall blue skinned man. She was too annoying to die.

"Would you like to see her now?" The doctor's inquiring voice interrupted his thoughts. Deidara jumped up at the chance but Kisame held him back, shooting Sasuke a side swept glance.

"Go," He gruffly told Sasuke, ignoring Deidara's protests. "You brought her here, you deserve to go first." Sasuke quietly nodded in appreciation at the man before gathering his composure and following the smiling medic through the open doors. He looked around, as his eyes finally landed on the small figure in the corner of the room.

Sasuke's eyes never left Sakura's face as she slowly turned around to face him. Her emerald orbs widened as she spotted him, his tall figure standing at the doorway as his onyx eyes swept over her. "Stupid girl." He muttered, taking a few steps towards her.

Her face brightened up as she smiled at him. "I feel a lot better now. Oh by the way, thanks for saving me, Sasuke."

He was amazed at how naturally his name rolled off her lips, how _perfect_ his name sounded coming from her. "You amaze me." He admitted quietly, shaking his head. She lifted an eyebrow at his statement, waiting for him to continue. "You survive the worst situations. I really think whoever's working upstairs doesn't want you to die yet."

"Well good, because I want to stay here right where I am."

"I'd miss your annoying voice." Sasuke admitted after a minute of comfortable silence. "And everything else that's annoying about you." She smiled unsurely at his statement, unsure if she was supposed to take his words as a compliment or an insult. "Sakura..." He said, catching her attention. "When I... said those things to Naruto, I didn't mean them. I... quite like your annoying personality. And everything else."

She burst into giggles, recieving a scowl in response.

"Is that your way of telling me you like me?" She asked him teasingly, as her heartbeat quickened.

"You can't blame me, I tried my best." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. "You know I'm not good at this."

"I know that," She answered him dryly. Her smirk slowly disappeared as they settled into another comfortable silence. Sasuke quietly observed her as she looked down at her hands, a pink tinge creeping up into her cheeks as she shyly tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear, carefully choosing her next words. Sasuke found himself mesmerized at how she slowly bit her lip, before opening her mouth to speak again. "You know Sasuke..." She slowly looked up again. "When I was younger, I used to envision my future boyfriend as someone sweet, kind, handsome, caring and gentle." She had a slightly wistful look on her face. "He had a nice shade of light brown hair and green eyes just like mine."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah well when I was younger, I hoped to have a nice, organized, quiet, responsible woman. I thought she would have black hair just like my mother and dark, intelligent eyes. I thought she would be extremely tall and elegant." He stopped for a moment to eye her. "I did not expect to find myself with a girl like you."

Sakura's eyes widened at his last statement. "You mean...me... y-you..." She started to splutter incoherently, blushing a deep shade of red. His chuckle was deep and pleasant to her ears.

"Come one Sakura, you're smarter than that." Sasuke said, his lips slightly curving up into a smile.

"This doesn't make sense." She looked flustered now. "You hate me, I'm supposed to hate you... we don't go well together."

"Well what can I tell you?" He shrugged, before smirking at her again. "The dobe said that opposites attract. Maybe he was right. Would it hurt too much to give us a try?"

Sakura was about to answer him when she was once again interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Cute." Kisame commented, entering the room, as he patted Sakura lightly on the head. "You should've seen the look on your face Uchiha. Did you think she was going to die or something?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke whirled around to face the intruder.

"Things like this happen everyday for us." Deidara explained. "We always end up in situations like these. It's part of our job, our life. At the beginning it's a bit scary but we trust each other to not get killed now. We knew she wasn't going to die from the beginning."

"So what, this was completely normal for you?" Sasuke asked, shocked. He briefly imagined Sakura in the hospital, bleeding, dying...

"You could say that." Sasori joined into the conversation, shrugging. "It mostly happens to Sakura because our enemies mostly target her. They tend to underestimate her because she's the youngest and only female in the Akatsuki. Most people don't know that she's much stronger than the rest of us." Sakura beamed at his statement, looking satisfied with herself.

"Back in Mist it was pretty out of control." Deidara said, after thinking it over. "But now that Sakura is here in Leaf for two months, most people don't know where she is. But they might have found a lead now, judging by the way she was just attacked today. We should look after her for awhile. Actually, one of us should just stick around her for today, make sure she isn't attacked again."

"No." All eyes turned to observe the younger Uchiha. "I'll look after her."

Kisame smirked at him and Deidara teasingly nudged Sakura. A minute later, he was slammed into the wall, the result of Sakura's tiny fist. "I may be in a hospital bed," Sakura started to say. "But that doesn't mean I can't pack a mean punch."

"You're in for a long ride," Kisame warned Sasuke.

"I know," The Uchiha answered with a smirk, looking down at the pink haired girl who against better judgement, was finally his.

.

* * *

.

"Welcome back." Kakuzu greeted them as the door to the limo opened. "And good afternoon Sasuke-san." He gave the younger Uchiha a curt nod. He was seated down alongside Hidan, who merely raised up a hand in greeting.

"Hey Kakuzu." Sakura answered politely, slightly bowing her head. Kakuzu was a personality that was not to be touched- he was infuriated quite easily, and had lost his temper more times than anyone could count. Even more than Sakura, which was saying something. "Say hello," Sakura murmured quietly, elbowing Sasuke in the ribs.

"Good afternoon," Sasuke followed her directions, trying not to wince at the pain stabbing at his side.

"Hmph. So you're dating the younger Uchiha now?" Hidan commented with a smirk. Sakura blushed a deep shade of red as the raven haired boy smirked back, protectively snaking a hand around her shoulder. "Cute."

She didn't say anything else in response, but couldn't help but be pleased out how Sasuke didn't deny it either. The rest of the ride towards Konoha was quiet, occasionally disrupted by crude but comical remarks by Deidara or Hidan, and the occasional banter between Sakura and Kisame. Sasuke kept quiet throughout the entire ten minute drive back to Konoha, and Sakura relished in the comfortable silence because she knew it would not last long.

What would this mean for them now? Sakura anxiously looked up at the taller figure sitting next to her, unable to read his onyx eyes. He slowly ran a hand through his shiny black hair, which rebelliously spiked in all directions. Even if their relationship did work out, there was no way it could work out at school- she didn't know much about protocol in Konoha, but she was sure that student-teacher relationships were pretty much prohibited everywhere.

"Thanks for the ride." She heard his voice say, and looked up in surprise to see they had already arrived. Sasuke had already opened the door and gotten out, and was waiting for her to join him.

"Oh, thanks guys." Sakura hastily said, and quickly got out of the vehicle to join Sasuke.

"WHERE'S MY CAR TEME!"

The first thing they heard when they got out of the car was Naruto's loud voice. Sasuke and Sakura both cringed and turned around to see their blond friend running out the gates, eyes widening in horror when he saw that his friend was back but his car was nowhere to be seen.

It took Sakura awhile to calm the frantic blonde down, with promises that someone from the Akatsuki would have his car brought back by the end of the day. When Deidara tried to protest, Sakura simply shot him a nasty look. When Naruto had finally calmed down, he shot the couple a suspicious look. "What happened to you two anyways? Did you guys go on a secret date or something?"

Sakura and Sasuke sheepishly looked at each other, and Naruto's gaze turned horrified once again. "Are you guys serious? You guys aren't... together or something, are you?"

"W-well, it's not official or anything-" Sakura protested, and stopped when Sasuke squeezed her hand. She looked up at him with a smile. "I... wouldn't let any other poor woman on this earth be with him. It would be too much for the poor girl's heart."

"Look, I don't want to disturb your little romantic moment together, but we should really get back to class." Naruto interrupted. Sasuke sighed in frustration before he grabbed her hand and motioned for her to follow him as he broke into a run towards the school buildings.

When they finally reached the classroom, they half-expected to find the class in ruins. To both Sasuke and Sakura's surprise, the class was completely silent- simply a room full of students who were busy reading their books. "What's wrong with you two?" Someone pointed out, indicating their joined hands. They immediately jumped away from each other.

"None of your concern," Sasuke said, motioning for her to take her seat as he reached his desk. Sakura quickly made her way back to her seat next to Kiba, feeling everyone's eyes on her. She ignored Neji's intense gaze as she slumped into her seat, Kiba shooting her a questioning glance.

"Did I miss something?" Kiba asked her, as she blushed once again. "I mean you guys looked pretty cozy up there when you came in." She briefly wondered what to tell Kiba- she was unsure what answer was appropriate. She hadn't exactly had the time to talk to Sasuke about what they were going to do with their new relationship, and she wasn't sure if he wanted people to know or if he wanted to keep everything quiet.

"It's nothing." She decided that the truth could come later. "We were just holding hands 'cause we were in a rush and he didn't want me to drag behind." Sakura knew she had succeeded in being convincing when Kiba seemed to buy her excuse, looking disappointed.

"I get it," He said in a subdued tone, and decided not to pry anymore as he turned back towards the blackboard. There was only one thought on his mind- his plan was not working at all.

.

* * *

.

As soon as the bell rang, Sakura gathered her things and rushed out of the classroom, having Sasuke briefly wonder where she was headed off to in such a hurry before he returned to grading papers.

The breeze was cool against her skin as she ran out out into the grounds, making her way towards the gates. She couldn't help but grin as she thought of the person she was going to meet soon- the only person who could stick by her side for so long. Her grin grew even wider as she spotted the source of her good mood.

Yamanaka Ino stood on the edge of the road with one hand on her hip while the other pulled down a pair of expensive sunglasses to reveal glinting baby blue eyes, decorated with mascara. Her beautiful long platinum blond hair was tied up into a high sophisticated ponytail, save for one long strand that was swept to the side in a fashionable haircut. She impatiently tapped her foot against the side of the road in her shiny black high heels. A couple of boys stopped to give her an appreciative whistle. She rolled her eyes, ignoring the cat calls as she waved Sakura over.

"Sorry I'm late," Sakura sheepishly said, looking up at the taller girl.

"Spare me the bullshit, Forehead girl," Ino said with a grin of her own, enveloping her friend into a tight hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages! C'mon, let's go get a cup of coffee and catch up." She linked arms with the pink haired girl and led her towards a cozy little coffee shop across the road. "My treat," She added, earning a bright smile from Sakura.

"Ino-pig, you haven't changed a bit." Sakura answered back, feeling shorter than usual next to her tall friend. "What's up with this sudden visit? Surely it's not only because you wanted to see me."

"Oh, you wish you were that important." Ino scoffed. "I'm here because of some photoshoot this week, nothing big. I heard you were in the area so I thought I'd drop by to see how you were surviving without me."

"I'm honored that you could fit me into your busy schedule." Sakura sarcastically commented, as they entered the quaint little shop and both took a seat in a comfortable corner.

"May I take your order?" A friendly voice piped up, and they both looked up to see a boy around their age with shiny black hair in a perfectly straight bowl cut, ending right above his extremely bushy eyebrows. She smiled back at his flashy grin.

"We'll have a hot chocolate and a cup of strong black coffee." Ino said, waving a hand dismissively.

"One hot chocolate and one strong black coffee, coming right up!" The boy exclaimed, and rushed back towards the counters. Sakura raised an eyebrow, and when her eyes met Ino's, they both burst into giggles.

"Coming right up!" Ino mimicked, as they both burst into giggles once again. "Looks like you have an admirer forehead girl." The blonde continued, and Sakura just sighed. "So what's up? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Sakura hesitated for a minute, looking down at her hands. "I'mkindofhavingguyproblems." Ino gave her a look, and Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm kind of having guy problems. And I don't know who else to turn to- it would be weird to talk to one of the guys about it."

"Don't even THINK about talking about guy problems to guys." Ino said with a horrified look. "They'll never understand us." Sakura nodded in agreement. Ino glanced over at her friend and her face softened as she saw Sakura's expression. "What's going on, Sakura?"

"I... I have a teacher." Sakura started slowly. "His name is Uchiha Sasuke. He's older than me, and not to mention very, _very_, good -looking. Despite his good looks he's a cold bastard most of the time. We hated each others guts up until yesterday, when we got locked into a classroom together and he kissed me. And he kind of saved my life a couple of hours ago and we're kind of together now."

Ino stared at her friend for a full minute as her mind tried to digest all the information Sakura had just given her. Her blue eyes were wide in shock now. "...wow." Ino finally said after awhile. "That's some story you've got there. Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'take things slow'?"

"I know." Sakura said with another sigh, as the waiter returned with their orders. "Thank you," She politely said, as he set down her steaming hot chocolate on the table. He beamed at her once again and left.

"So what exactly do you need help on?" Ino asked, as Sakura sighed in frustration. "You guys got together, shouldn't you be happy?"

"I know I should be satisfied." Sakura said, sipping her hot chocolate. "But he fully denied it in front of the class. I mean is our relationship supposed to be a secret?"

Ino shot her a strange look. "Haven't you ever thought that maybe he'll get fired if anyone catches wind of this relationship?"

Sakura was about to retort when she was interrupted. It seemed to be happening a lot these days, she noted in annoyance. "Hello my fair lady. I could not help but be attracted back to your table by your beauty." The strange waiter was back again. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"She's fine, thanks." A voice growled from behind her, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. The waiter looked up in surprise, only to be met with Uchiha Sasuke's steely face.

"Oh, is that a form of jealousy that I see?" The waiter grinned in delight. "How wonderful, I've got competition for this lovely lady! You may be my rival."

"She's off limits," Sasuke said coldly. Apparently he did not want to be rivals with the boy.

"We shall see about that! I shall mark you as one of my honorable rivals!" The waiter exclaimed joyfully. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Rock Lee! I shall fight for this lovely woman against you with all my force!" Sakura looked bewildered now. "We shall meet again, my sweet, sweet flower!" The waiter saluted again, and vanished.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't be so harsh on him." Sakura sighed in exasperation. "He was just being a gentleman. You should learn to be nice to people."

"Oh, is this the tea'cher?" Ino squealed in delight. "He's hot!" Sakura glared at her after hearing her friend's statement.

"Back off pig, he's taken." Sakura growled. Sasuke smirked at her scowl.

Compared to Ino, Sakura had always felt overshadowed. Ino was glamorous, beautiful. Ino was that girl all the guys turned around to stare at, she was the girl that everyone wanted to be, with the pretty looks and the fashionable clothes. Sakura was only the girl who followed in her trail, the girl who was never quite up to par. Sakura nervously looked at Sasuke, wondering if he was comparing the two girls right now.

"So, Sasuke was it?" Ino purred, batting her eyelashes at the boy sitting across from her. "How 'bout you dump Sakura and come over to have fun with a capital F?"

"Ino!" Sakura let out a horrified gasp.

"I'm kidding!" Ino burst out into laughter. "Do you really think I'd do that to you?" Sakura looked relieved at her friend's words. "Nice to meet you by the way. I'm Ino, Sakura's best friend since... well... forever." Sasuke nodded in response, not saying another word, before turning towards Sakura.

"Naruto wanted me to tell you that there's a party in your dorm tonight. I tried to stop him, but he wasn't listening to me."

"Why is he having a party in _my _dorm?" Sakura asked in an incredulous tone of voice. "And what's the party for anyways?" Sasuke shot her a look, as realization dawned upon her. Naruto was throwing a party for _them._ "I bet Naruto isn't acting alone. I bet Kiba's in on it too, maybe even Shikamaru."

"Did I just hear something about a party?" Ino asked, brightening up. "Oh please don't call it off, a party is _exactly_ what I need!" Sakura rolled her eyes as she contemplated choosing between throwing off the party or pleasing her best friend.

As she looked at Ino's face, she knew that she was in for a wild party.

.

* * *

.

When Sakura finally made it back to her dormitory, a lot of people were already gathered inside, setting up for a party that was way too elaborate to have been organized in one afternoon. She eyed both Naruto and Kiba suspiciously, before taking a look around at her surroundings. They promptly ignored her, pretending to be extremely interested in other things. '

"Hey Sakura-chan, hey teme! We're celebrating..." Naruto shot them an unsure look. "I mean nothing in particular. We just feel like celebrating, that's all!" He laughed, looking extremely guilty. "Sasuke-teme, I need to talk to you later. In private." Sakura shot them an uneasy glance, wondering what Naruto possibly had to say to Sasuke in private.

"Oh dear lord," Ino groaned, as Sakura's gaze snapped over to her best friend. Ino pointed at Shikamaru, who was busy setting up a bunch of dark green streamers which highly clashed with the cheerful orange ones over the window. "That is a tragedy." She abruptly marched up towards the brunette boy. "You!" She called out loudly, catching his attention. "Are you color-blind? These streamers do not go well with the other decoration at all! Have you got no sense of style?" She huffed, tearing off the green streamers and holding up a bag of red ones. "Here, these will match SO much better."

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously, clearly not too happy with the insult that had been directed at him.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino." She said proudly, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Well it's great to meet you," He dryly answered her, before snatching the bag of streamers back from her. "And thank you for the advice, I'll be fine now." Ino looked bewildered, before giving him another rude remark. Sakura giggled, watching them bicker over a bag of streamers.

"They seem to be getting alone well," Sakura softly whispered to Sasuke.

"Aa." He nodded smirking.

"Hey the others are here!" Naruto exclaimed, and Sakura braced herself as the door finally swung open.


	9. Mountain

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_"Hey the others are here!" Naruto exclaimed, and Sakura braced herself as the door finally swung open._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER NINE**

**Mountain**

"_The city lights shine down, and they blind me sometimes, _

_But through it all, I was lost, but I found my way…"_

_._

_._

_._

Naruto's eyes twinkled as people started coming through the door. "Hey Kakashi-sensei!" He exclaimed, expecting his favorite teacher to be the first one through, but instead was met by a surprised young woman who immediately turned red at the sight of the blond boy. "Who are you?" He asked curiously, and Sakura's eyes turned over to observe the stranger.

She was beautiful, Sakura observed. She was tall and elegant, but an entire different kind of elegant than Ino. There was something regal about how she held herself, even in her timid stance. Her dark blue navy hair swept past her shoulders down to her waist, holding a beautiful shine that even Ino would be jealous of. But her most interesting features were her eyes- an extremely familiar shade of pearl.

"I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata." The girl stammered, confirming Sakura's suspicions. "I w-work for Kakashi-s-sensei... it's nice to m-meet you Uzumaki-san. Kakashi-sensei h-has told us a lot a-about you." She looked down at her feet, refusing to meet Naruto's curious stare.

"Ah, is that so?" Naruto said, eyeing Kakashi. "I hope everything he's said about me were good things. Anyways, call me Naruto, Hinata-chan! Can I call you that?" The girl's blush turned even deeper at Naruto's friendliness.

"Of c-course, N-Na-Naruto-kun..." Hinata timidly answered, and shook his outstretched hand. He shot her a grin, before motioning for her to enter.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you Hinata-san. I'm Haruno Sakura," Sakura introduced herself with a warm smile. "This is my...friend Uchiha Sasuke." She gave the man next to her a nervous glance. Hinata gave them both a polite nod and a shy smile. "Hello, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura greeted politely, bowing her head as she saw the gray haired man who had met them at the airport at the beginning of the summer term.

"Pleasure to see you again, Sakura." His lone eye crinkled up into a silent smile. "I see you look as lovely as ever."

"Kakashi." Sasuke growled.

"Oh didn't see you there Sasuke. Nice to see you as well." Kakashi winked at him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Nice to see you too Kiba! Thanks for returning the janitor's keys last time. When I saw you stealing them, I was worried you wouldn't return them. Imagine my relief when I saw you putting them back!" Kiba looked terrified as Sakura's murderous glare turned towards him.

"I knew you were behind this." Sakura snarled, marching up to him. "And who else but Shikamaru would have the wits to steal the keys from the shed and put them back without anyone noticing?" Shikamaru suddenly looked extremely interested in the lamp next to him. "I would beat you both to a pulp, but you're lucky something good came out of it."

"Does that mean we're off the hook?" Kiba asked hopefully, his face brightening up.

"Nope." Sakura gave them a false cheerful smile. "It just means you can make reservations at your hospital while I think of what I can do to you." Sakura bemusedly looked at them as even Shikamaru seemed a bit scared for once. He muttered something about how he should never listen to Kiba again, when the door opened to reveal more guests.

"Glad to see you could join us Tenten!" Naruto hollered, happy for the distraction. The girl at the doorway waved cheerfully. Her light brown hair was tied into two buns resting at the top of her head, and Sakura would've thought it to be quite cute if it wasn't for the girl's extremely athletic figure.

Sakura was about to step up and introduce herself again when Tenten stepped up, her eyes sweeping around the room. Her eyes lightened up when they landed on the female Hyuuga. "Oh, Hinata-san, right? I was wondering if your cousin was around. I've heard much about him, and I was hoping to meet him tonight."

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed. Sakura's face quickly fell as Sasuke reassuringly squeezed her hand. "He's coming later," Naruto quickly rushed. "In the meanwhile, why don't you I get you a drink? Here, come with me." He quickly led her away, shooting a knowing look towards Sasuke.

"Ah, Lee." Kakashi said fondly, and Sakura turned around to see a familiar face. Sure enough, he was right there, the same waiter she had met a few hours ago at the small coffee shop. Clean, black bowl cut and bushy eyebrows, it was all unmistakable. Sasuke glared at the new arrival as the very object of his irritation turned around to face the surprised pink haired girl.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you again, my fair lady." Lee brightened up, his full attention on the petite pink haired girl who turned red in embarrassment at the blatant display of affection that was much unwanted on her part. "It must be destiny that has brought us here together again. I can tell that you are as enthusiastic as I am of our meeting!"

"Get off," Sasuke growled, his onyx eyes glaring at the new addition. "She's not available to hear your stupid love confessions, so save it for someone else."

"Lee, this is Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi cheerfully introduced.

"Ah, Uchiha-san!" The boy straightened up, his eyes twinkling in recognition. "I wasn't aware of your identity at our previous encounter! I am delighted to meet you. Kakashi-san has told me so much about you. It's such an honor. You have had some great accomplishments by your name!" Sasuke looked a bit taken aback at the sudden attention averted towards himself.

"Well, thank you, I guess." Sasuke said uncertainly, before clearing his throat. "This is my girlfriend, Haruno Sakura." He said, with a smirk on his face at Lee's crestfallen face.

"So Lee, I wasn't aware you were acquainted with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura quickly rushed, attempting to steer the conversation away from its current awkward topic.

"Oh yes, I usually work for Kakashi-sensei, but on some afternoons I tend to help out Gai-sensei at his youthful coffee shop down the corner of the street." Lee beamed at receiving her full attention. "I didn't know you went to such a prestigious school as Konoha!" Sakura thought that it would be a good idea not to tell him that she had been sent to this summer school only as a punishment.

"Hey," Naruto interrupted the conversation, noticing Sasuke's livid face. "Why don't I introduce you to the others?" He motioned around at the few people gathered around the room.

"Ah, it would be an honor, Uzumaki-san!" Lee exclaimed loudly. Lee jumped towards Naruto, almost knocking a couple of things down along the way.

"Stop scaring everyone away from me." Sakura scolded the Uchiha, who was glaring at Lee's back now. "I'm not going to have any friends left if you keep this up."

"He deserved it," Sasuke answered stubbornly. "He was crossing the line." She shot him another look, and he rolled his eyes. "Okay Sakura, the next time someone decides to hit on you, I'll cheerfully encourage them."

More and more people gradually arrived, filling up the once empty room, varying from Kakashi's work friends and Naruto and Kiba's friends from around school. To Sakura's relief, Neji had not shown up yet. She nervously looked around the room, wondering how Naruto knew all these people. There had been some trouble at the door, caused by a number of Sasuke's fan girls who had been trying to crash the party.

To her surprise, Gaara had joined them for the party, bringing his two siblings along. Sakura had briefly wondered how his siblings even got along with him, when she discovered they were just as unique as he was.

Temari was a tall, busty girl with sandy blond hair, tied up into four, strange ponytails. Her honey brown eyes were sharp and not amused as she sat down on the couch with a drink in her hand, simply observing the people around her. Her long, curvy legs were stretched out onto the coffee table, covered in stylish fishnet tights that had a couple of males continuously looking in her direction.

Kankuro, the other sibling, had similar sandy blond hair that stuck out under a purple hood draped over his head. He was slightly shorter than Temari and a bit taller than Gaara. He had broad shoulders and an athletic build that was an indication that he worked out daily. He would have seemed like an everyday normal boy if it wasn't for the strange, deep purple paint covering his face that vaguely reminded Sakura of a clown.

Ino and Temari had immediately taken a disliking to each other, and Sakura couldn't help but attribute it to their similarities- Sakura carefully observed at how they were so similar yet different in so many ways. Poor Shikamaru had somehow gotten stuck in the middle of the crossfire, as he sighed and buried his head in his hands.

Next to them, a flustered Hinata was trying to have a smooth conversation with Naruto who tried to get her to talk without her stutter. He seemed intent that with a bit of speech training, she would be able to speak normally.

Sakura sighed contentedly as she held her new partner's hand, happy to finally spend some quiet time with him. They found themselves bickering about the smallest things, and just as she expected they didn't get along on every single thing- but to her surprise, she found herself happy with the man next to her, and she was glad that she had been wrong about not being to be in a good relationship with him.

Sasuke was a cold and distant person, but like ice, he slowly melted at warmth, and she was slowly learning how to become his warmth. She found herself learning small things about him- how even though he seemed not to care for many things, he had a certain way of expressing his feelings. "You should take me out to dinner sometime," She tried suggesting playfully.

"Hn. Why waste money on taking you out when we can eat free food here?"

She shot him a glare. "Is it so much to ask you to be romantic?"

"Whenever I try to be romantic, you complain." Sasuke answered.

"That's because everything romantic that comes out of your mouth sounds strange." She retorted, taking a sip of her drink. "Romantic gestures suit you better than romantic words." She paused for a minute. "Like it would be a romantic gesture for you to ask me to dinner right now."

Sasuke was about to tell her that if he asked her to dinner right now, it would be romantic words more than a romantic gesture, but before he could, there was a knock on the door, distracting them from their debate. She held up a finger, motioning for him to wait as she made her way back to the front door. Her eyes widened as they landed on the figure standing at her doorstep.

"Hi Sakura." Hyuuga Neji was standing in front of her, looking dead serious as he walked into the party, closing the door behind him. Sakura blankly stared at the empty spot in a trance. Sasuke quietly walked up to her and gently set a hand on her shoulder, shaking her out of her thoughts. He proceeded in asking her if she wanted a drink, to which she answered with a nod and a smile. He slowly led her through the people towards the drinks, his eyes not leaving her shaken figure as he poured her a cup of cold water. She seemed to finally regain her senses as her lips touched the ice cold substance.

"You guys should come dance!" Naruto ran towards them, sweaty and out of breath. The party had become more animated with the upbeat music that filled the room, as a couple of people started jumping around at the beats. Sakura laughed when she saw Kiba fooling around with the girls, and alone, Rock Lee seemed to be very focused on his pelvis dance.

Sasuke seemed to be horrified at the very idea Naruto had suggested- Sakura gave him a wide smile, tugging on his sleeve. "Come on, let's have some fun." She said, and frowned when he shook his head and glared at Naruto. He stubbornly stood still, as she sighed in frustration. "I guess I'm going to go dance with Lee over there." Sasuke shot a wary glance towards the dancing boy, before grunting.

"You go ahead and do that." He told her dryly, leaving her fuming. She should have known that he was too smart to fall for her tricks.

"What's up with you?" Ino asked the gloomy Sakura, as the pink haired girl stormed away from her partner and towards her blond best friend.

"Mr. I'm-Too-Cold-and-Cool-to-Dance won't come and dance with me." She sent him a death glare before facing Ino again. "Some kind of guy, huh?"

Ino looked over at the brooding guy who kept his eyes fixed on Sakura. "He doesn't look like the dancing type." Ino told her with a laugh, and grabbed Sakura's hands, trying to get her friend to join in on the dancing.

Shikamaru collapsed onto the couch, relieved to finally be free of Ino and Temari's bickering. Temari's eyes flickered over towards the brunette boy before smirking. "They tell me you're real smart." She said, her voice almost inaudible over the loud music. He looked at her once, before leaning back without giving her an answer. "We should play a game of shoji one day."

His eyes lightened up in interest at the mention of his beloved gameboard. "You play?" He asked her.

"Hell yeah." Temari answered with a big grin. "We'll see how good you really are."

.

* * *

.

Sasuke was getting nervous now. It was far past midnight and the party was still on full blast, the music louder than ever. He could feel the exhaustion get to him, but for some reason everyone else seemed to be more energetic than they had been at the beginning. Sakura emerged from the crowd, out of breath. She stumbled on her own feet, bursting into laughter as she regained her balance.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, slightly disturbed. He looked over at the drinks sitting innocently on the table, and watched Naruto suspiciously pocket something. "Wait Sakura- did you drink that?" When he turned back towards her, Sakura was gone. She had made her way to the refreshments table and had poured herself another drink before he could stop her. He wasted no time in making his way towards the pink haired girl.

"It kind of burns." She admitted, swaying on the spot. "It's weird. Are you sure this is water?" She gulped down the remainder of the cup in her hand before taking in a deep breath.

"Give me that." Sasuke snatched the cup away from her, taking a whiff of the leftover contents. He grimaced, throwing the cup away into the trashcan. "This is vodka Sakura. I bet Kiba and Naruto had something to do with this." She ignored his words and pushed him away, giggling as she stumbled once again. "Okay, party's over." He told her, gripping her firmly by the shoulders. "You need to get some sleep, as does everyone else does."

"No!" She exclaimed, clinging onto him for dear life. "The party's fun! Don't send them home, Sasuke!"

Sasuke swore to kill Naruto before the night was over, as he sighed. "Sakura, you're out of your mind." He tried to stop her from squirming out of his grip, as she loudly protested. "You need sleep right now. No matter what our relationship is, I am your teacher and I declare this party to be over. Now hurry up and go sleep before I give everyone detention tomorrow."

"Sakura."

Sakura's green eyes widened as she whirled around to face the source of the voice. Sasuke inwardly groaned- great, this was absolutely the last thing he needed right now.

"What do you want Hyuuga? I don't have time to play games with you." Sasuke snapped, putting two hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"I don't need anything from you Uchiha." The white eyed boy said coolly, frowning. "I need to speak to Sakura. In private."

"The hell you will!" Sasuke snarled, his grip tightening. "She's in no condition to talk to anyone, especially you." Neji scowled, before pushing the Uchiha aside. Sasuke's eyes widened as he released his hold on Sakura, crashing into the wall.

Sakura giggled as Sasuke straightened back up. Neji looked at her in confusion for a minute. "She's drunk, you idiot." Sasuke snapped. "If you really cared for her, you'd let her get some rest right now. You wouldn't talk to her while she's drunk."

"You let her drink?" Neji asked, accusation sharp in his voice.

"It was an accident." The Uchiha answered back angrily. However, Neji did not let him say another word as he grabbed Sakura's hand, making her stumble as he led her away from Sasuke. The raven haired boy was about to run over and punch the Hyuuga in his face, when the white eyed boy was stopped in his tracks.

"Hyuuga Neji right?" A surprised voice shouted over the music. "You're Hinata's cousin aren't you? I could tell from a mile away!" The girl Sasuke remembered as Tenten stood in from of Neji, unaware of the current situation she was blocking.

"Yes." Neji answered stiffly. "I am related to Hinata-sama." His voice was cold and rigid, hinting that he did not have any time to waste. The girl, however, seemed to think the contrary. She pulled him over, making him lose his grip on the pink haired girl. "Wait-" He began to protest, but Tenten seemed to think otherwise.

"Hinata's told me so much about you!" Tenten exclaimed. "She's told me you have a talent with weapons and stuff. I'm actually really interested in weapons, do you think you'll have time to teach me one day?" She kept on rambling. Neji was helplessly pulled away from the pink haired girl he had been trying to talk to all evening and soon lost sight of her in between the heavy crowd.

Things only seemed to get worse when an inebriated Naruto lowered the music, waving his hands in the air as he called for everyone's attention. "Hey everyone!" He yelled, slightly slurring his words. "I just wanted to congratulate my best friend, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura for finally getting together!" A couple of people whistled and cheered. Sasuke briefly looked around at the crowd, wondering if he could trust these so called 'friends' to not go blabbing around the whole school about their relationship. If this news reached the superiors, there would definitely be trouble. He was jolted out of his thoughts when Naruto spoke again. "And it was all thanks to my awesome matchmaking!" A distant yell of "My plan too!" was heard from the crowd. The voice sounded an awful lot like Kiba.

"Well, we want to hear everything from the main character his evening, don't we?" Sakura-chan, get your pretty bum up here!" Naruto yelled, and a couple of people pushed the pink haired girl forwards. She looked around in confusion.

"I... uh... I..." She looked around. Unsure of what she was supposed to be doing. "I love Sasuke a lot!" She exclaimed, and the room burst into cheers again. "We've been together for only a couple of hours, but he makes me really happy!" Sasuke turned red at her statement. "I actually liked Neji for awhile." The crowd turned silent, all turning to look at the white eyed boy. Sasuke stared at her with an unreadable expression. Did she even know what she was saying? "But he thought he could have me and another girl at the same time." She said quietly, but by now the room was so quiet that her words were loud and clear. "Was I not good enough?"

"Naruto, stop her!" Sasuke hissed at his best friend, who was simply watching her with a dumbfounded expression. Tenten suddenly looked extremely disgusted, and abruptly walked away from him. Sakura was starting to cry now. Sasuke sighed in irritation, finally grabbing the girl and pulling her away from the center of attention. "Naruto, you are _so _dead later." Sasuke growled under his breath. "I know it was you who spiked the drinks." He looked down at the girl who looked extremely lost and confused now.

"You're drunk Sakura." Sasuke said dryly. "I have to get you to sleep."

This time, the girl didn't protest as he carried her to her room, shutting the door to block out the whispers. He carefully set her down on her bed and tucked her underneath the covers, making sure she was fast asleep before leaving the room.

He looked around, dazed. What had just happened? All he could distinguish was a whirlwind of emotions circling through his head. Sasuke fists tightly clenched at his side, as he furiously glared at the Hyuuga, who looked as somber as he did. "Out!" Sasuke snarled, frightening the remaining people in the room. The people quickly scampered out, and the Hyuuga was the last to leave the room.

Sakura was his now- but why was it so hard for her to face Neji?

This called for someone's help- maybe it was time to finally call his father.


	10. Stay Together

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_This called for someone's help- maybe it was time to finally call his father._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER TEN**

**Stay Together**

"_If this is what he wants, and what she wants,_

_Then why's there so much pain?"_

_._

_._

_._

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

Sasuke's shoulders tensed as someone finally picked up on the other end of the line.

"Hello, this is Uchiha Fugaku speaking."

"Father?"

There was a short pause. "Aa, Sasuke." The elderly man answered. "Are you not in the city of Leaf now?"

Uchiha Fugaku had always been an immense figure of power in Sasuke's life. The boy had spent his childhood always trying to impress the man, but he had always come up short when it came to competing for the man's attention with his older brother. Sasuke would be lying if he said that his brother's betrayal had crushed the Fugaku's pride- maybe that was the reason for which he always seemed to be trying harder to please his father, to make up for the things that Itachi could no longer do. Restoring his family's honor was now up to him- but he couldn't help but feel compelled to ask for his father's advice in the most difficult situations.

"Yes Father." Sasuke calmly replied.

"How are you doing in Konohagakure?" Fugaku asked, interest lacing his words. "I hope your job is gong well. Are you teaching many students?"

"Aa." Sasuke answered curtly, mustering up the courage to ask for his father's advice. "Father, there is something I wished to talk about with you." He hesitated for a mere second, but it was all it took for Fugaku to notice there was something bothering his son.

"Is something bothering you Sasuke?"

"Father, did you ever have any difficulties with Mother?" Sasuke blurted out, mentally hitting himself as soon as the words left his mouth. He had not meant for his voice to sound so desperate. "I mean, you know, before you got married. Did you have any issues in courting her?"

Fugaku seemed to be a little surprised at his son's outburst. Sasuke had always asked for his help when it came to problems with his studies or his future, but never had the boy approached his father with emotional issues in his life. "An Uchiha gets what an Uchiha wants." Fugaku's voice was firm, full of pride. "Of course your mother fell for me eventually."

"Eventually?" Sasuke curiously asked. "How was your relationship before that?"

"Oh, we hated each other." Fugaku said with a chuckle, as Sasuke's eyes widened on the other end of the line. "We always fought. She claimed I was heartless and I always claimed she was over dramatic." It was eerie how everything sounded extremely familiar to Sasuke. "Within time though, we learned to love each other." Sasuke stayed silent, not knowing how to ask his next question. "Are you having problems with someone, Sasuke?"

"I think I'm learning to appreciate a woman who I've recently met." Sasuke openly admitted. "But it seems to me that she can't get over the man she was involved with before... and the most irritating thing of all is that the man is a Hyuuga!" Sasuke's calm composure finally cracked a little at his last words. He could almost see his father frowning right now.

"A Hyuuga?" Fugaku repeated, his tone of voice disappointed. "Clan rivalry... do you know his name?"

"Hyuuga Neji." Sasuke replied sullenly, showing a side of him that only his father would ever see.

"A branch house member, nonetheless!" Fugaku exclaimed dramatically. "Son, what has gotten into you? Losing a woman to a Hyuuga branch house member? I thought I taught you better than that."

"I don't control her mind." Sasuke gritted out furiously. "I cannot control who she likes and who she doesn't like."

"That may be true, my son." Fugaku said slowly. "You cannot choose who she loves. But remember this: you have the right charms to make her forget him, and to make her fall in love with you." Sasuke quietly contemplated over his father's last words.

"How will I do that Father?"

"If you are an Uchiha, you will find out on your own."

"Aa. Thank you Father."

There was another short pause. "You do realize, Sasuke, it will have to be over soon. You have a fiancée waiting for you back home. We will have to start planning out your wedding soon."

"Yes Father."

"Good luck, Sasuke."

.

* * *

.

"Sakura!"

The said girl moaned in her bed, feeling the biggest headache in her life take over her mind. She shifted around under her covers for a couple of seconds, before slowly drifting off again. Her bed felt so damn comfortable right now, if only she could have a few more hours...

"It's time to wake up Sakura!"

She had never had such a strong urge to kill someone before.

The sun rays shyly peeked through the curtains and into the room, shining onto the girl to reveal a pale face scrunched up in irritation as she felt herself about to burst into another tantrum. "Shut the damn curtains properly!" She snapped, rolling over so her face was hidden in her fluffy, comfortable pillow. Kiba smiled mischievously, before grabbing her covers off of the bed and throwing them into a corner of the room.

"Give... me... my... covers... BACK!" Sakura snarled, tackling the boy to the floor. "And give me something for this stupid headache! NOW!" She demanded nastily, clutching her head with one head, trying to decrease the pain. Kiba whimpered a scared response before rushing out of the room, quickly saying something about going to the infirmary to get her some medicine. She growled. Why couldn't she remember what hat happened last night? All she could remember were bits and pieces, scattered throughout her mind.

Her mood worsened when she opened the door to her living room, to find people sleeping on her floor once again. It was extremely deja-vu. There was a mess everywhere. Hadn't anyone sent them back to their own rooms last night? She stepped over a snoring Naruto and a quietly napping Kakashi- she had been momentarily tempted to pull his mask down to see his face, but decided that now was not the time when her head sent another shot of pain through her brain.

When her vision gradually cleared up, through her pain, she was able to notice one very important thing that was missing from the room.

Her Akatsuki book.

Sakura panicked- she vaguely remembered Kiba looking through it two nights ago, and he had left it on the short coffee table in the living room- but now it was _gone__._ The light pink binder was out of sight, the proof of her work, her accomplishments.

She let out a cry of surprise and despair as she immediately acted on her instinct. She grabbed the nearby phone and dialed a number that she had memorized long ago. It rang three times before someone finally picked up.

"Sakura-cham, it's my day off!" Deidara complained sleepily on the other end. "You know I sleep in until past noon when I don't have any missions. After all, I do need my beauty sleep."

"Deidara!" She shrieked, as he winced, holding the phone away from him. "They stole my book!"

"Someone stole your book?" This time his voice was no longer playful, as he straightened up. Every member of the Akatsuki treasured their book, as it was something akin to a holy object to each and every one of them. "What happened?" Deidara's voice was for once, deadly serious.

"Yes! Some people threw a surprise party in my dorm yesterday, and I woke up with a huge headache and no memory whatsoever of what I did last night!" Sakura was near nearly hysterical. She took another swift look around the room. "And Sasuke isn't here either!"

Deidara could almost imagine the little girl flailing her arms around in her room. "Calm down, Sakura-chan." He tried to soothe her. "First of all, look around for any notes or something. Someone wouldn't just take your book without a reason- it has no value to anyone else." She was about to protest that she had seen all there was to see, when a small piece of paper jutting out from one of the coffee table legs caught her eyes. She old her friend to hang on for a second as she dived for the small object, making sure not to rip it as she wedged it free.

_If you ever want to see this book again, meet me at the Blooming Lotus at noon._

"Someone;'s blackmailing me into meeting them at noon." Sakura growled into the phone, glancing at her watch. It was eleven thirty now- if she could quickly wash up and get dressed, she could still make it in time. "The nerve of some people!"

"Blackmail date?" Deidara suggested.

"No, I don't think it's something like that." Sakura said, eyeing the neat, formal handwriting for a couple of seconds, before crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it into a corner of the room.

"You should have someone go with you Sakura-chan. Remember what happened the last time you were taken to meet someone?"

"The only reason that happened last time was because I willingly followed the guy." Sakura snorted. "You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

Deidara paused. "The only thing that worries me is that if this is indeed another person trying to find out information about the Akatsuki, it means that they've found a lead on you. They found out that you're in Konohagakure and I don't want you to let your guard down only because we're in a difference city." Sakura softly smiled, genuinely grateful at her friend's concern.

"I'll be fine! Plus, Lee-san works there, and he said he'd protect me, so there's no way I'll get into trouble!"

"Who's Lee?"

"Long story short, a guy who crushes on me with bushy brows. Anyways, I gotta go now, I'll talk to you later." She said, and Deidara muttered a reply before hanging up.

Sakura rapidly made her way through the sleeping bodies scattered around her feet, making sure to step on Naruto extra hard. He grumbled a bit, before continuing to snore loudly. She rushed to the bathroom, washing up and changing into a pair of casual jeans and a light green shirt before making her way out the room once again. She tied her light pink hair back while hurriedly running through the hallway, hoping that she would still be in time to get her book back.

When she took her first step through the doors to the coffee shop, her heart fell with betrayal at the only familiar face she could recognize in the nearly empty place. "Neji." Her throat immediately dried up. "Give me my book back."

The said boy was quietly sipping his coffee, his unnerving white eyes piercing into her. "Only if you hear me out." He said in a quiet yet demanding voice. He motioned for her to take a seat in front of him, which she did with a deep scowl on her face.

She crossed her arms and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I'll give you five minutes to say whatever you have to. If I don't have my book back by then, I will not hesitate you to punch you through the walls." His expression didn't change despite her threat towards him. He slowly set his cup of coffee back down onto the table, before taking a deep breath.

"Sakura, I know we were never in an official relationship but-"

"Tell me something I don't know Neji."

He gave her a frustrated look. "You probably asked yourself why I went for another girl instead of progressing things with you." He said quietly, his stoic face unchanging. She glared back at him, not giving him an answer at all. "I... I was blackmailed, Sakura."

Sakura momentarily forgot that she was supposed to be angry with him as her mouth fell open. "Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"I know about the risks that come with being part of the Akatsuki, and this girl... she would ruin your life Sakura. She would tell everyone back in Mist that you were currently in Leaf, she was going to tell them your room number, your schedule, everything. It wasn't going to be safe for you anymore. I refused to put you in danger."

Sakura's eyes softened. "This girl... she wanted you to sleep with her for you to keep the secret?" He merely nodded, and she shuddered, mentally thanking the heavens that she was not born as a good looking male- fan girls were just too frightening to her. "Neji, you-"

"I've been looking for you everywhere Sakura."

Sakura's shoulders immediately tensed up at the presence behind her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to face him at all. She could see how he could misunderstand this situation entirely, how bad it looked on her part.

"Really Hyuuga? Blackmailing? I expected you to be more honorable than that." Sasuke's voice was ice cold. "And I'd prefer it if you didn't blackmail my girlfriend into seeing you. If she says she doesn't want to talk to you, you should respect her wishes."

"It was an important matter." Black and white clashes as the two men glared at each other. Neji finally broke eye contact, pulling out the pink binder from under the table. He slowly set it in front of her. Sakura's eyes snapped wide open as soon as she heard the plastic cover hit the clothed table with a light _thump_. "I'll see you soon, Sakura. I hope we can still be friends."

With those last words, the Hyuuga abruptly stood up and exited the coffee shop, leaving an unreadable Sasuke to take his seat in front of her. She cast a look at her partner, wondering why she felt so guilty when she hadn't really done anything wrong.

"What were you thinking?" He finally said, his voice harsh and demanding. "It could have been anyone, worse than the Hyuuga. Maybe someone who wanted tokidnap you again, someone who wanted to hurt you-"

"Stop it Sasuke. This binder means a lot to me- and I can take perfectly good care of myself."

"Sakura..." His tone softened and he placed a calloused hand over her soft one on the table. "I was just worried about you." She didn't answer, but she dropped her glare. "I brought you these pills." Sasuke interrupted the silence, pulling out a plastic container. "I figured you'd have a headache after last night."

She gave him a grateful smile, and was momentarily tempted to ask him what she had done last night to acquire this monstrous headache, but right now she was simply too tired. Sasuke ordered a coffee and a glass of water, not saying anything else. When their orders came, he calmly sipped on his coffee as he watched her wash down a pill with some water.

"Would you like to go somewhere for dinner tonight?"

His words surprised her, as she coughed on the water she had been drinking. "I thought you didn't believe in taking me out to dinner when we could have free food at the cafeteria here." She replied teasingly, unable to hide the light tint on her cheeks.

Her heart slightly jumped in her chest when he gave her a small smirk.

"Let me take you out to dinner Sakura."

.

* * *

.

"Teme where have you been all morning? I've been trying to find you for hours!"

Sasuke winced as his self-proclaimed best friend's loud voice greeted him the moment he stepped into the teacher's lounge. He looked over to see the blonde cheerfully waving at him from the comfortable couch. "To tell me what?" Sasuke asked irritably, rolling his eyes as he took a seat across from Naruto.

Naruto seemed to be oblivious to Sasuke's clear irritation, and carried on speaking in a loud voice. "Well you know Neji's cousin?" Sasuke's eyes flared up at the mentioned name. Naturally, Naruto did not notice. "I talked to her last night and I scored a _date _with her for tonight!" His bright blue eyes gleamed in excitement.

"That's great." Sasuke grumbled, vaguely remembering the timid girl. He relished the silence, hoping that Naruto would give him a break-

"And you'll never guess what!"

Sasuke had obviously asked for too much.

"What Naruto."

"SHIKAMARU TOTALLY HOOKED UP WITH A GIRL!" Naruto exclaimed, bursting into laughter. He looked at Sasuke's mildly surprised face, and he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Well kinda... I guess. He met this girl last night and he said he's going to meet her again tomorrow for a battle of shogi... what a lame excuse!" Sasuke was about to tell the blonde that no, he did not care about who hooked up with who last night and yes please, he just wanted a break, when his onyx eyes caught a glance of the big calendar hanging on the wall.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said in a low voice, never taking his eyes off the dates. "One month has already gone by."

"Duh." Naruto gave him a weird look. "Of course it's been a month genius, it's August now." It took him a couple of seconds to realize what Sasuke meant. "Are you worried about Sakura-chan?"

"No."

_You're such a bad liar, Sasuke._

_._

* * *

.

"He was such an ass!"

Sakura gave her best friend an absent-minded nod as she distractedly looked outside the window, only vaguely listening to Ino's words. The blond haired girl had been repeating the same words over and over again for the past hour- and as much as Sakura really did love Ino as her best friend, there was a limit to how many times she could listen to Ino's complaining.

"He was such a rude jerk! You should have seen the way in which he was treating me, it was completely-"

"I think you like him Ino."

"And his sense of- WHAT?"

Ino's shriek was louder than Sakura's poor ears could handle, and the latter's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment as several people turned around to give them curious looks. "Lower your voice, pig!" Sakura hissed, before continuing her sentence. "You keep on talking about him nonstop. You usually do that with boys you're interested in." She pointed out, ignoring the murderous looks Ino was giving her.

"I keep on talking about him because he's interesting, yes- but in a _negative_ way, Forehead girl." Ino told her, putting extra emphasis on the word 'negative'. "I like to insult people as well- only because I talk about someone doesn't mean I like him." Sakura rolled her eyes at the obvious excuse, but decided to drop the subject- once Ino started to deny something, there was no way to change her mind.

"I'm going back to Mist in a month."

Ino's eyes brightened up at her friend's words. "Yeah you are! And we're going to throw many parties like we used to!" Ino exclaimed, looking giddy. "It'll be like the good old days- you better not blow me off for stupid missions or whatever they assign you in that stupid group! And I bet Idate's still waiting for you too!" She paused her rant when she realized the pink haired girl didn't look excited at all. "It's Sasuke isn't it?"

Sakura averted her emerald eyes away and suddenly took extreme interest with a strand of her hair.

"Not really." She answered, twirling the strand around a finger. "I'm just worried about other things."

_You're such a bad liar, Sakura._

_._

* * *

.

"You're worrying me."

Tenten shot her co-worker a concerned glance from her messy office desk. The Hyuuga heiress sat at her own desk across from her, the complete opposite of Tenten's space. While the brunette's area was messy and disorganized, Hinata's work area was spotless and neat. "You've been completely out of his since last night, Hinata. Are you going to tell me what happened?" A roguish grin came over her face.

Hinata let out a timid squeak and clumsily dropped her pen to the floor. The object loudly clattered on the metal surface, startling the heiress even more. When she reached down to pick it up, she knocked over a stack of well-organized papers to the floor as well. "See what I mean?" Tenten said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm... I'm j-just not feeling w-well today," Hinata stammered, frantically picking up the papers. "I have a l-lot on m-my mind."

"Does it have to do with a certain blond haired boy you were talking to last night?" Tenten teased, enjoying the sight of her co-worker looking so flustered. "He was SO all over you oyesterday night, it was painfully obvious Hinata."

A heavy blush adorned Hinata's cheeks. "Do you t-think s-so?" She timidly asked, a small but pleased smile spreading on her porcelain-like face.

"Definitely." Tenten confirmed, with a nod of her head. "Didn't you see the way in which he was talking to you? And you have to admit that he seemed totally interested in you when he asked you to eat ramen with him tonight! It's like a date!" Hinata let out another surprised squeak at the last word. "Oh and by the way Hinata, you never told me your cousin was such a hot piece of meat!" Hinata's blushing face turned horrified at Tenten's description of her relative. "Too bad he's such an asshole. No offence."

"It's s-strange." Hinata suddenly turned serious, looking extremely thoughtful. "N-Neji nii-san is not t-that kind of p-person, I s-swear. There must b-be a misunderstanding." It took one look into Hinata's eyes to convince Tenten that the Hyuuga heiress was probably not lying.

"Well, isn't that Sakura girl going out with the Uchiha? Neji should just give up and look for another girl. Leave them to enjoy their summer romance!" She huffed, looking slightly irritated.

"A g-girl like you?" Hinata giggled, as Tenten's mouth formed a round 'O' shape.

"Hinata!"

.

* * *

.

It was late in the afternoon when Sakura got back to her dorm after meeting with Ino. She was completely exhausted- Ino certainly knew how to talk her mouth off. She looked around the room, grateful to see that the mess had been cleaned up. She found a couple of notes waiting for her on the coffee table- one from Shikamaru, telling his roommates that he would be out for the evening to play shogi with a friend, one from Kiba, attached to a bottle of aspirin, and one from Sasuke, telling her to be ready by six.

Sakura looked at the clock, dread forming a knot in her stomach as she realized that it was already past five. She barely had the time to take a shower and get dressed- where was she going to find the time to choose her clothing and look nice? She wanted to look more than decent for their first date- but if she wanted to even look anywhere _near_ decent, she would have to start getting ready. Now.

She took a rapid shower, making sure she smelled good before standing in front of her drawer. She looked at her clothes with a deep sigh, thinking that her boyfriend could have at least told her where he was taking her so she could dress for the occasion. She didn't want to feel under-dressed or vice-versa. In the end, she decided on a safe but pleasant looking white, casual summer dress, accompanied by a short black sweater. She had just finished applying final touches on her make-up when there was a knock at the door, making her heart jump to her throat.

"Sasuke," She greeted shyly, opening the door to reveal the taller man standing at the doorway. He was dressed in a fairly similar fashion, perhaps a little more elegant. His black skinny trousers were supported at the hip by a black leather belt, and his white shirt was slightly unbuttoned to reveal his toned chest. He gave her a brief but appreciative glance before motioning for her to follow him. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" She asked him curiously, as he led her down the hallway by the hand.

"You'll see." He replied curtly.

Knowing that she probably wasn't going to get more from him, she silently followed him towards the parking lot, where he opened the car door for her to get in. He slid into the driver's seat next to her and started up the engine. Without another word, the car pulled out of the school grounds, driving down towards the main road.

"So, what have you been up to all day?" Sakura nervously asked, hoping the cheerfulness in her voice didn't sound too forced.

"Met Naruto after splitting up with you at the coffee shop." He said, his eyes never leaving the road. "Planned out your courses for the last four weeks of lessons." Her face fell at his words. She had been trying to ignore the subject of their time limit all day, not to mention she didn't have the courage to bring it up in front of him. She wanted to know what would happen to them after the summer ended, but at the same time she was scared of the answer.

He must have felt the tension in her body. "We're going to talk about it tonight." He said quietly, in a serious voice. She briefly wondered if tonight was going to have a good outcome or a bad one.

Neither of them said another word to each other for the rest of the car ride, both too deep in thought to start up a conversation.

When he finally stopped the car, Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts as he opened the door for her, waiting for her to get out. She couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her mouth as she looked at possibly one of the most elegant and luxurious restaurants she had ever seen- she couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious as numerous rich, well-dressed couples walked by them, entering the building.

As if he had read her thoughts, he leaned his head down to whisper a reassuring "Don't be nervous." into her ear. She gave him a nervous smile, but found herself unable to relax as the huge brass doors opened automatically as they got closer. She marveled around at the beautiful ruby carpet adorning the floors, and the intricate wooden wallpapers throughout the spacious place. She vaguely listened as Sasuke ordered for their table.

"Of course, right away Uchiha-sama."

Her eyes widened at the formal speech the waiter used, and had to suppress her giggles as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you popular, Uchiha-sama?" She teased him.

"I have been here numerous time on family business." Sasuke seriously replied, but she didn't miss the smirk that graced his lips as they made their way towards their table. Sakura took a seat as the waiter pulled out the chair for her. She awkwardly squirmed in the expensive leather seat, the cheap material of her dress feeling uncomfortable against the luxurious material of the seat.

Sakura quietly observed as Sasuke ordered off the menu, speaking a language that she had never heard before. She was positive that it wasn't english. She nervously looked around, her eyes darting back and forth between her partner and the extremely expensive looking chandelier above their heads- she could only pray that it wasn't as frail as it looked.

"Sakura." He caught her attention right away as soon as her name rolled off his tongue. Bright green orbs looked up to gaze back at him.

"I must talk to you about something important."

.

* * *

.

Shikamaru sat still in his seat, dumbfounded- a feeling he had not experienced in many years. Never before in his entire life had he been beaten by someone, nonetheless a stranger he had never heard of.

But here she was, right before him. Sabaku no Temari had just triumphed.

Oh, the _ humiliation_

"So you're the genius everyone's talking about?" Temari huffed, arrogance slightly lacing her words. "You aren't all that much kid. Sorry to break it to ya."

He narrowed his eyes at her, crossing her arms as he leaned back in the small plastic chair. They received a few curious stares from several people walking by- it was an unusual scene, seeing a couple sitting at the fast food stands at the mall, with a shogi board right in front of them. Shikamaru would have preferred a quieter place- he blamed all the noise and confusion on his loss- but against his will, he had been dragged here by the forceful Temari, who insisted that fast foods helped her think better.

He was about to challenge her to another round when a shrill voice interrupted their thoughts. "Ah! It's you!" A voice screeched, and the two heads turned around to see a familiar platinum blond haired girl pointing an accusing finger towards them- more precisely, towards _him_.

Shikamaru was horrified. His day was indeed spiraling down towards the gutters.

"Hey, you're the blond chick from the party!" Temari called out. Her voice was friendly enough, but Shikamaru could see the devious grin in her face. It scared him to no ends. This was precisely why he did not get involved with women- they were troublesome. This was proof. "Hey, why don't you join us?" Temari added.

"Uh, crazy pineapple haired guy and freaky fishnet girl? No thanks." Ino scoffed, flipping her hair back.

"We're going shopping." Temari added. Ino's ears perked up and her blue eyes immediately lightened up at the other girl's words. Shikamaru loudly groaned, knowing what this meant.

The sandy blond haired girl had won this round as well.

.

* * *

.

Sakura's face was no longer nervous on the exterior. She looked calm and serious, her green eyes unwavering as they met his own. She prayed that he wouldn't be able to see her shaking hands under the table.

"What do you need to talk about?" She asked, trying to keep her voice light and steady. She feared his answer.

"We need to talk about what will happen to us when this month will be over."

The plate of raw fish was served in front of her.

Somehow the only thought that came into her mind was a miserable one.

_This reminds me of Kisame._

Somewhere on the other side of the city, the said blue skinned man sneezed.


	11. Swing Swing

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_Somewhere on the other side of the city, the said blue skinned man sneezed._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**Swing, Swing**

"_Days swiftly come and go, I'm dreaming of her, _

_The sun is gone, _

_The nights are long,_

_And I am left, as the tears fall…"_

_._

_._

_._

"Sakura, listen carefully."

Sakura looked up, her bright emerald orbs silently telling him that her full attention was on him. His unreadable onyx eyes stared back at her, his masculine jaws clenched tight as his lips formed a thin line. Her heartbeat quickened, as she imagined numerous different scenarios in her head- but he was so unpredictable that she simply didn't know what to expect anymore. She nervously played with her napkin in her lap, waiting for the man in front of her to continue. It was agonizing how slowly he raised his crystal wine class to his lips. He took a long, slow sip.

"You're a very interesting girl." Sasuke slowly said, his deep voice dictating every single word clearly. Not once did he take his eyes off of her. "Sakura, you know I like you very much. You're pretty much the only person I've ever dated willingly."

She forced a small smile onto her face, unable to stop the slight wince that overcame her face. "That's nice to know." She could already hear the unspoken word that was coming up.

"But-"

There it was. That dreaded word. She tightened her grip on the napkin at her mercy on her lap.

"I am engaged." He stated simply, and she almost choked on her own spit. Her lips slightly parted as her mouth almost dropped open, and she found herself at a loss for words, not knowing what to say to the statement that she had certainly not expected. She had completely forgotten about his situation back home. How could she be so _stupid_? An engagement was not something you simply forgot. "It's an arranged marriage that has been organized for me ever since birth."

"You're kidding me." She blurted out, and stopped herself from using the crude language that was swimming around her head. "I mean... Sasuke, you're kidding right? Who even _does_ arranged marriages anymore?" She waited for him to answer, slightly irked at the fact that his expression hadn't changed one bit since the beginning of the conversation. A couple of people turned around at the rise in volume of her voice. Sasuke shot her a wary look.

"It was arranged between my family and Ayame-san's family before I was born." He explained to her, as her heartbeat quickened. This time, it was not in anticipation or anything of the sort- it was something akin to anger, jealousy. "Itachi was supposed to be the one to fulfill our family's part of the deal, but the responsibility fell to me when..." His eyes turned unfocused for a minute as his words trailed off. She swore his eyes flashed red for a minute, but it was gone as fast as it had come.

"Are you breaking up with me?" She couldn't stop the words that tumbled from her mouth (Ino had once described her friend's habit of spilling her thoughts as word vomit) and the napkin in her hands promptly ripped in half. Sasuke's constant expression finally broke as he looked bewildered for a second, before letting out a slight chuckle.

She watched in delight as his features lightened up, the corners of his lips turning upwards into a small smirk. For a second, her mind completely blanked as she relished at the image of seeing a rare sign of amusement on his face.

"No Sakura." He said, his chuckle long gone, replaced with a slight twinkle on his eyes. "We still have one month." He told her. "I'd like to spend as much time as possible with you now." She smiled at his statement, feeling her cheeks warm up in pleasure at hearing the words. Her smile abruptly fell as the weight of his words fell upon her.

Her gaze fell down to the napkin torn in half in her lap, as she was suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "So one month? And that's it?" She asked him in a small voice and she felt his muscles tense up at her words.

"One month is all I can give you, Sakura." He told her, and for a second, she thought she heard a hint of disappointment.

Sakura didn't answer, as he gave her time to think. Thoughts swam around her head in a frenzy- she didn't know what it was about this dark haired man in front of him that gave her the chills- not in a bad way. Despite all their bickering, all their arguments, there was something that attracted her to him in an almost obsessive manner, and she found herself always relaxed and incredibly comfortable in his company.

She knew Sasuke wasn't a man of many words, and she knew that it was useless to try to engage him in a long conversation. He probably wasn't the Prince Charming that she had always longed for. She didn't expect him to take her for long walks on the beach or talks under the moonlight and stars- but she found herself slightly pleased at the fact that she didn't really mind either. But how long would this happiness last? She had temporarily forgotten that he had a different life outside of Konoha, and he would have to return to it by the end of this month. They would go their separate ways, as if they had never met.

"And what happens after that?" She voiced her biggest concern out loud.

He didn't hesitate to answer her. "I get married to Ayame-san and I expect you to move on and do the same."

"You want me to move on and marry Ayame-san too?" She managed weakly, forcing a small laugh. This time, he did not seem amused. He reached his hand across the table and grasped her small hand in his own, giving it a light squeeze. It felt comforting, but it did nothing to make her feel better.

"You have to promise me that you will forget me as soon as we leave Konohagakure." He told her. "One month Sakura, that's all I can give you. It's either that or we end it here."

"I'll take the month," She quickly said, and mentally slapped herself at how desperate she had sounded. "I-I promise I'll forget you when the month is over."

Sasuke seemed to be satisfied with her answer, as his grip loosened and his shoulders relaxed. "Good." He said, his face turning blank again as he leaned back into his expensive leather chair. "But for now, we should make the most out of our time here."

Sakura gave him a warm smile, as she pushed the nagging thoughts into a small corner of her mind.

She sincerely hoped that this month was going to be the slowest month of her life.

.

* * *

.

"Na-Naruto-kun, you should be c-careful..."

Hyuuga Hinata worriedly bit her lip as her lavender eyes looked back and forth between the energetic blonde and the bowl of ramen in front of him. Naruto was too busy to hear her words of advice as he wolfed down the contents of the bowl into his mouth, distinctly reminding her of a vacuum cleaner. He let out a big sigh of satisfaction, leaning back in his chair and patting his stomach a couple of times, as he set the bowl on the pile of empty ones already stacked on the table. His blue eyes sparkled as he looked back up to face the lovely girl sitting across from him.

"T-that could c-cause you an i-indigestion." Hinata nervously told him, her concerned gaze deepening. She twirled her thumbs, her eyes now extremely concentrated on a random spot on her white skirt. Naruto let out a tinkling laugh, showing a row of perfectly white teeth in the process. He quickly raised a hand and ordered another bowl of ramen, before turning to face her again.

"It's okay Hinata-chan!" He exclaimed, giving his stomach another pat. "I've got a stomach of steel! It can handle anything in this world!" She shot his stomach another concerned glance as he straightened up, proceeding to take off his bright orange jumper. "Are you all right?" He asked her, raising an eyebrown in concern as a deep red tint overcame her cheeks. She let out a small squeak, wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt.

His face lightened up in delight as a bowl of ramen was promptly set down in front of him. He let out a loud exclamation of "Itadakimasu!" before delving into the steaming bowl. Hinata let out a small giggle, clearly not disturbed by the boy's bad table manners like most people he knew were. His face broke into a dashing grin, but immediately turned into a confused look. Her thoughts were answered immediately when he voiced his curiosity.

"Say Hinata-chan," He said, not bothering to swallow his food before speaking. "What kind of relationship do you and Neji have?" He paused, finally swallowing the chewed contents in his mouth. Hinata looked at him in mild surprise. "I mean, I know you guys are family and stuff, but he called you Hinata-_sama_, didn't he? What's up with that?"

Hinata quickly recovered from her momentary surprise at his sudden question. "Neji nii-san is my cousin." Hinata spoke softly, her quiet voice hard to hear over the loud chatter around them. He nodded, as if to tell her to continue. "W-well our f-family situation is a b-bit complicated." She stammered. "My g-grandfather had two s-sons. M-my father is the e-eldest, s-so the duty as c-clan leader passed onto h-him. M-my uncle b-became h-head of t-the branch house."

Naruto grimaced, looking disgusted. "I don't get all this fancy bullshit about Main houses and Branch houses. Everyone should be born equal, if you ask me." His nose wrinkled up in disapproval, and Hinata found herself admiring the boy's ideals. She had always been against the idea of separating the family into two different branches, but Neji had always seemed intent on keeping the family tradition. She was the heiress to the head of the Hyuuga clan, a position that Neji had always wanted. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder if Neji hated her for being born the way she was.

She gave him a sad smile, wondering if one day, she would be able to confide her concerns with the friendly boy in front of her. His expression turned somber. "People in the branch house probably don't even have a chance before they're judged. I know how that feels..." Her eyes slightly widened at how serious he suddenly sounded.

"Yes, it's quite terrible." She agreed. "N-Neji nii-san is a very n-nice person once y-you get to know h-him. He just h-has a very c-cold perspective on l-life. H-he believes it's a-all fate."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a minute, before picking up his chopsticks once again. "Well you know what I think, Hinata-chan? I believe that it was fate that we met!" He exclaimed cheekily, before taking another big mouthful of ramen. She blushed once again, before looking back down at her hands.

"I h-hope so."

"What was that Hinata-chan? I can't hear you, you have to be louder!"

"Nothing, N-Naruto-kun, nothing."

.

* * *

.

If someone asked Shikamaru what his idea of a very bad day was, it would probably be something very close to the situation he was in right now.

Shikamaru tried to avoid the mall as much as possible. Everything about it, simply summarized, was troublesome. The screaming kids, crowded shops, lack of of oxygen, and most of all, crazy shopaholic blondes. He warily eyed the two very different blondes on either side of him- Temari was a mature and intelligent woman with somewhat wise honey brown eyes. She was tall and athletic, and charming in her own way with her curt and sarcastic remarks. Ino, on the other hand, was a loud, talkative girl who insisted her platinum blond hair was one hundred percent natural. Her cerulean blue eyes sparkled with life everytime she talked, and could sometimes be considered friendly, if you ignored her occasional snappy comments. However, in his book, both were troublesome.

"Hey Shikamaru, be a gentleman and hold this for me, won't you?" Ino snapped, shoving another heavy shopping bag into his already full hands. Shikamaru grumbled and tried to balance it out among all the other bags, almost losing his balance in the process. Temari shot him an amused smirk from his other side.

"Ino, why don't you try this shirt on over here? I think it would look amazing on you!" Temari exclaimed, her smirk widening at Shikamaru's crestfallen face. If he wasn't so annoyed, he would have been impressed at how good she was at manipulating Ino. He could almost picture Temari pulling at the strings behind the other blond girl.

However at this point, Shikamaru was too irritated to be impressed. "Woman, stop her!" Shikamaru snapped, feeling his grip on his sanity slowly loosen. "I've had enough of this already! I should just dump your shopping bags in the nearest trash can or have you carry them by yourself."

"And that would make you a bastard." Ino said, waving a hand carelessly in the air. "Now wait here while I go try that on." Shikamaru sighed in desperation as she disappeared behind the door to a changing room. He contemplated on an escape route before Temari interrupted his scheming.

"You having fun?" She asked him innocently. He swore she was trying to bait him when she took a seat in front of him, sighing in relief. "Oh thank god, my feet were killing me. You don't mind if I take this seat, right?"

"Does it look like I'm having fun?" He growled at her, ignoring her last statement.

"Oh, you'd have to tell me." Temari said, mockingly batting her eyelashes at him.

"Oh yeah. Can't you tell by my overjoyed expression that I am absolutely _dying_ do be here?" He retorted. She let out a laugh, but she wasn't laughing with him She was laughing _at _him. Oh, she was purposely doing all of this to irk him, and it was driving him insane.

"I'm back! How do you think this shirt looks on me?" Ino finally emerged from the changing room, dressed in an elegant light blue shirt which matched her eyes. Shikamaru might have appreciated how the piece of clothing looked on her if he wasn't so annoyed. He closed his eyes, praying that this time around maybe Temari would show some mercy-

"You look wonderful! I think you should totally buy it." Temari suggested, bringing a bright smile to Ino's face. Ino disappeared back into the changing room and re-emerged a moment later, the blue shirt hanging off her arm.

"You!" She called towards Shikamaru, her head snapping towards his direction. "Go stand in line for me." She shoved the blue shirt and a credit card into his hands. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and decided that it was better to just follow along with what she said instead of resisting her- it would probably be faster and less painful. He slowly walked over to the long line in front of the cash register, shooting another annoyed look behind his shoulder.

"So you interested in the kid?" Temari asked casually when he was out of earshot, earning a scowl from Ino.

"Me? And that geek? No thank you, I'll just find myself a model or something and live happily ever after with him."

"Looks like you're kind of attached to him." Temari suggested, as Ino's frown deepened.

"As if! Although he could use a girl like me." Ino shrugged.

"I like challenges." Temari said with a smirk. "You better make sure you're a good one."

With that last statement, the older girl got up and walked over towards Shikamaru, sending Ino a wink. Ino's surprised face quickly morphed into amusement. _"_Honey, I'm way more than you could ever handle." She replied with a smirk.

The challenge was on.

.

* * *

.

"Close your eyes Sakura."

"They _are_ closed!"

"You were peeking."

Sakura let out a sigh of frustration, blindly reaching her arms out in front of her. Sasuke's hand felt heavy on her shoulder as he led her forwards with one, and covered her eyes with the other. Dinner had been pleasant, with no other major news. They had filled the time with small chat and the occasional banter, when Sasuke had told her that he had prepared a surprise for her. He had told her that her eyes needed to be covered, as she nervously followed him out- she didn't particularly like being blindly led somewhere.

"Are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" Sakura asked, letting out a small gasp when she stumbled on the uneven dirt ground. "I shouldn't have worn heels." She muttered under her breath.

"Somewhere." He simply told her, as she inwardly rolled her eyes. She was being more stubborn that usual, he thought dryly. "We're almost there, just be patient." Patience was clearly not a word in her dictionary. She sighed again, knowing that she was not going to get Sasuke to tell her anything. She stumbled again on a couple roots and she cursed something extremely unladylike under her breath. After what felt like ages, she felt him lift his hand.

"We're here."

"Was about time-" She started to say, and abruptly stopped when she set her eyes upon the sight in front of her. Sasuke had brought her to the top of a cliff that overlooked a beautiful pond, shimmering a breathtaking shade of blue under the midnight sky, surrounded by flowers and trees. The light breeze felt cool on her bare skin as she reached out a hand as if to touch the sky. "Sasuke," She breathed. "It's so beautiful."

"That's good." He said, slowly circling his arms around her smaller figure. She closed her eyes and leaned back into his touch- his small gestures of affection always made her feel extremely warm inside. They were quiet for a moment, both looking down at the beautiful scenery in front of them. "This is where I come to when I need to think." Her eyes widened for a moment, surprised at his sudden statement. He usually didn't share many of his personal thoughts with her- but she appreciated it when he did.

Her grip on his arms lightened. "Seems like you come to this city pretty often." She forced out, hoping she didn't sound too unconvincing.

"Family business takes me to many places." He quietly said, and she noticed a hint of anger underneath his words. She briefly wondered if he wasn't happy working for his family business, before his words pulled her out of her thoughts. "I've never brought anyone here." She couldn't help but feel relieved at knowing that he had never brought his fiancee here.

She unconsciously smiled to herself, as they took a seat on the tall grass together. "You're warmer than I thought you would be." She commented quietly. "I always had this wild idea that your skin would be ice cold." She giggled at her own words.

"Don't tell me you thought I was a vampire or something." He retorted, sounding amused.

"No, I just thought you were an ice cold bastard."

"... You smell like strawberries. I hate strawberries."

"Oh yeah, great comeback, Sasuke. What would you prefer, Uchiha-sama?"

"Tomato."

"Don't be ridiculous, I doubt tomatoes even have a smell."

"They smell good."

"I think you're weird, Sasuke-kun."

"And you're dating me."

It was impossible to win an argument with an Uchiha.

.

* * *

.

"Remind me why I let you drag me here."

Hyuuga Neji was definitely not having a good day. For the second time that day, he was seated at a table in the Blooming Lotus, strumming his finger impatiently as he shot a nasty glare at his so-called friend. The boy with the bushy eyebrows beamed at him, not noticing his friend's clear anger towards him. The quaint little coffee shop was empty at this time of the day, save for a couple of people enjoying their cups of coffee.

"You better have a good reason for calling me out here." Neji growled, taking a big sip of his steaming hot coffee. His white eyes narrowed threateningly at the other boy dressed in a green spandex suit that was tight in all the wrong places. Lee's face brightened up immediately.

"Yosh! Indeed I do!" Lee exclaimed loudly, as the few customers in the coffee shop curiously turned around to stare at the source of the loud noise. "A friend of mine who met you the other day wished to see you again."

Neji sighed. _This_ was Lee's big reason for calling him out here? "I'm not interested, Lee." He started to get up from his seat, but almost stumbled as Lee's hand shot out to push him back down.

"Neji, I insist." Lee's smile grew bigger with each and every word.

As if on cue, the door to the coffee shop opened as a very familiar tall athletic figure walked in. Neji recognized her as the brunette who had interrupted him at the party when he had attempted to talk to Sakura. Her hair waas a lighter shade than his, and was conveniently tied into two matching buns at the top of her head. Her almond eyes looked around the shop before she finally saw them. She gave Lee a warm greeting, before turning to give Neji a cold look.

"I'm wasting my time here." Neji said, his eyes narrowing. "I'm just staying because I owe Lee a favor."

"Don't worry, you're the last person I want to see right now." Tenten replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm only staying here because Lee and Hinata vouch that you're not the person everyone thinks you are."

"I don't need to prove myself to anyone, especially you."

"Well," Tenten said, taking a seat across from him. She crossed her arms, remotely reminding Neji of his mother. "On the contrary, you're going to have to prove yourself to many people, especially after what you did to Sakura. You've made many enemies."

Neji's eyes widened in anger, as he was momentarily speechless. "You barely even know her!" He exploded. Lee jumped back in surprise at his friend's outburst, his eyes widening at the sudden display of aggression. Tenten, however did not even flinch as she held his gaze with determination. "You met her last night and you didn't even have a chance to talk to her!"

"But I've heard a lot about her from people who think highly of her, like Lee, Kakashi-sensei, Kiba, Gaara-"

"Gaara TALKED to you? About Sakura? He barely knows her either! And he doesn't _talk_!" The conversation was turning more and more absurd- he highly doubted that the red-haired insomniac talked to people of Sakura. Actually, he doubted Gaara talked to people at all. Neji couldn't even remember a time when Sakura and Gaara had a decent conversation.

"Oh, he knows a lot more than you would think." Tenten said, casually waving an arm around. "And especially Naruto. He's being going on about how you pretty much screwed yourself over for the rest of the summer." Neji opened his mouth to protest but she wasted no time in cutting him off again. "But from what I could hear and see, she's having a wonderful time right now. With the Uchiha."

"With that Uchiha?" He retorted, rolling his eyes. "She'd have better luck having a relationship with a wall."

"You should give him more credit. I saw the way he looks at her, Hyuuga."

"He's her teacher! It's completely immoral!"

"It's not even real school, it's summer school. And he's only five years older than her, not like twenty. A lot of people get married with a bigger age gap."

Neji almost spat his coffee out.

"Married?"

"I was just saying."

Neji leaned back, her white eyes never leaving hers as he thought about her words. The Uchiha and Hyuuga clans had been rivals for a long time, long before either Sasuke or Neji had been born- and Neji had grown accustomed to seeing Sasuke many times throughout the years. Sasuke had always come off as hostile and cold- not much different from his older brother, who had apparently gone out on a killing spree a couple of years ago. Neji did not trust Sasuke, and he certainly was not going to trust him to be good with Sakura.

"They're not going to last."

Tenten gave him a look of disbelief as her brown eyes widened. "And then what? Are you going to go sweep her off her feet when they're over? Because I highly doubt that she's going to want you back."

Neji scoffed. "I've already explained myself to her. I don't need to explain myself to anyone else." He glared at Lee, who had been looking out the window the whole time ignoring their conversation. "I'm going to deal with you later Lee. I've had enough of this." He began to stand up, his long legs slightly sore from being locked in the same position for a long time. He was about to pull his chair out and walk away, when Tenten's hand shot out to grab his pale wrist- he winced, noting that the girl's strength was a lot of stronger that he had anticipated.

"Oh no you don't." She said, pushing him back into his seat. "Sakura seems like a nice girl, and she doesn't deserve to be hurt again after what you did to her. All of us are warning you right now- don't you dare ruin what she's found within the Uchiha."

"If you all cared for her, you would realize that he's only going to hurt her in the end."

"Stop being selfish."

This was the last straw for the Hyuuga. He was both physically and mentally exhausted, and he was not in the mood to stay around and talk to some brunette girl who thought she could defend a girl she barely knew only because they were both girls. He slammed his hands onto the table, attracting the attention of everyone in the coffee shop. Curious faces looked over as the coffee mug resting on the table loudly crashed to the floor, breaking into small ceramic pieces. She looked at him with wide eyes, finally not opening her mouth for once- and even Lee was looking at him with a concerned face now.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He burst out furiously. "Why does everyone only care about her? Doesn't anyone think that _I _wasn't hurt at all over this? Because I am! And worst of all, it's my family's biggest rival who's taking her away from me!" Tenten's eyes softened with each word that came out of his mouth, until she looked plain sympathetic. He didn't want sympathy from her- it would be better if she was just angry at him.

"Neji, let her go." Tenten said softly, her eyes warming up. "Sasuke has her now. You can't let judgement cloud your thoughts. Sasuke is great to her, and she's happy. You should do the same."

"She still hasn't forgotten me." Neji said coldly. "You heard the way she spoke about me last night. I can still take her back, make her happier than that Uchiha ever will-"

"Listen to yourself" Tenten all but screamed at him. "Listen to how desperate you sound right now! I'm telling you for the last time, forget her and find someone else. Both of you will be happier that way."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"I'm trying to be your friend."

"… have a good day, Tenten."

Tenten did not stop him this time as he got up from his seat, avoiding her eyes as he quickly walked out of the coffee shop. He didn't turn around to look back even once, missing the sad look on the brunette girl's face as he walked away.

.

* * *

.

They sat in silence.

This time, it wasn't the comfortable silence that Sakura usually enjoyed with Sasuke. It was mainly her fault- he had clearly noticed the way she had suddenly turned uncomfortable, nervously biting on her nails and tapping her foot, but he did not press the matter with her. An errant thought had been nagging at her mind all night, and she kept on contemplating back and forth between bringing up the subject or letting it go.

He quietly observed her as she twirled a strand of pink hair through her fingers, unconsciously biting her lower lip as she did so. He wondered if she knew how blatantly obvious she was being, when he remembered that Sakura had never been one to be good at hiding her emotions. He sighed. "Sakura, you're so easy to read. Tell me what's bothering you."

She hesitated, avoiding his gaze. "What's... whaYHN`t's Ayame-san like?"

He blinked twice, slightly taken-aback at her question. "She's alright."

"That's it?" She asked in disbelief, slightly frustrated at his answer. "Are you going to tell me anything else? Like what she looks like? What kind of person she is?" She waited as he slowly turned his eyes towards her, analyzing her face.

"I don't know her that well." He admitted to her. "She's blond, and has brown eyes. Quite boring in comparison to you." Sakura had to smile at this. "Skinny and clingy. More annoying than you are, if that's even possible." He paused for a second. "Actually, I take that back. I don't think there's anyone more annoying than you are." She giggled at his words, feeling slightly relieved.

"You've got the charm to captivate any girl." She told him sarcastically when her giggles died down, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you'll have her in no time."

He winced, looking slightly disturbed at what she had just said. "I don't plan on 'having' her anytime soon, Sakura. Trust me, I don't like this whole thing any better than you do right now. I'd actually feel better if she didn't love me."

"That's not what you should be saying about your future wife." She said quietly, amusement no longer apparent in her eyes.

"I like to refer to her as a forced companion." Sasuke said, his voice restrained. "Can we not talk about this right now? I'd rather talk about how we're going to spend the rest of our days together. Much more romantic, don't you think?" He added the last part dryly. She laughed at his words, her face brightening up.

"I want to spend the rest of my time here with you." Her voice dropped down to a whisper as she closed her eyes, letting the breeze tickle her face. "I want to spend everyday with you for the rest of summer."

"Whatever you want."

Her lips curled into a small but pleased smile, quietly listening to the deep sound of his voice. "I think I might love you." She whispered, so quietly that he barely heard her words.

"Aa."

She briefly wondered why he wouldn't say the same to her.


	12. 7 Minutes in Heaven

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_She briefly wondered why he would never say the same to her._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**7 Minutes in Heaven**

"_I'm sleeping my way out of this one, _

_With anyone, who'll lie down…_

_I'll be stuck fixated on one star,_

_When the world, is crashing down…"_

_._

_._

_._

"I haven't seen Sakura-chan in ages, yeah."

A vein in Kisame's temple throbbed as the blonde pacing around in the lounging room complained for what felt like the tenth time that day. It was a hot, humid day and the air conditioning in their temporary base had busted- courtesy of the argument between Deidara and Tobi that morning, which mostly consisted of Deidara throwing objects at a scared Tobi. Leader had no new missions for them, so they were all stuck in the house for the moment, with absolutely nothing to do.

"She hasn't been back ever since she's been hanging out with that Uchiha." Deidara whined again, and Kisame silently vowed to himself that he would beat the living daylights out of his friend if he opened his mouth to complain one more time.

Sasori cast him a disinterested look from the book in his hands, sitting on the couch across from Kisame. Despite his cool and collected composure, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Kisame bemusedly noted that even the emotionless Sasori was bothered by this incredible heat. "She's allowed to be with whoever she wants to," Sasori briefly said before turning his attention back to his book.

"Plus, this place is much better without that brat." Kisame added in his two cents, a smirk on his face. "Much quieter. And less things broken."

Deidara shot him a dirty look. "You know you like it better when she's here. It's so _boring_ when she's not." Kisame actually found himself agreeing with the blonde. She could be annoying at times, but on days like today, when everything was so damn _slow_, Kisame found himself wishing that the pink haired girl was actually here to take his mind off of the heat. Deidara paced around the room faster, wiping off the sweat on his forehead with his shirt.

"You're giving me a headache, Barbie-boy." Kisame grunted, and Deidara stopped in his tracks to stare at the blue-skinned man in horror, before immediately looking back at Sasori, expecting some kind of defense from his partner. Sasori pointedly ignored him, licking the tip of his finger as he turned a page in his book.

"Some partner you are, yeah." Deidara grumbled. "You people are all insufferable."

"And we people would also happen to be in a much better mood if you didn't break the air conditioner on a day like this. "I'm just glad Pinky isn't here to make the situation worse."

Kisame was hardly surprised by Deidara most of the time- but this time, the blonde succeeded in doing so when he slammed his foot into the glass table, smashing it into pieces. Sasori looked up from his book again, closing his book this time as Kisame immediately took a defensive stance. "I didn't know you thought so lowly of her." Deidara said coldy, a look of disgust on his face.

"Deidara, Kisame was just kidding-" Sasori tried to say, but Deidara interrupted him in mid-sentence.

"Sakura- she's the best thing that ever happened to me ever since I joined the Akatsuki!" Deidara burst out angrily. "Scratch that, she's the best thing that happened to ALL of us ever since we joined, and you know it! Don't even try to deny it!" Kisame sighed, knowing that there was no stopping him now. "Tell me, when was the last time you felt alive after you joined?" Deidara continued. "When I first joined the Akatsuki, all I ever thought of myself was that I was a cold blooded killer. Like I wasn't human. My life was just killing and working for this stupid organization, and nothing else."

"That's how we all feel." Sasori told him calmy, his brown eyes intensely staring at him. Deidara laughed brokenly, and Kisame actually felt disturbed for the first time.

"No, that how I _used_ to feel." Deidara snapped at them. "When Sakura-chan came to the Akatsuki for the first time, I didn't know who she was. I thought it was silly and foolish to bring a little girl into this organization- and pink hair? Come on, it was all starting to look like a bad joke." Deidara laughed again, and Sasori set down his book. Not once did Kisame lower his defensive stance- Deidara was starting to become a little too crazy for him to handle right now. "But she proved us wrong. She was emotionally wrecked and abandoned at first, but we all saw her change into the strong girl she is now."

"What are you trying to say Deidara?" Kisame impatiently asked him, briefly wondering if it was the heat that was making Deidara so insane. "I don't have the time or patience to hear about your love confessions."

"I love her like a sister." Deidara softly said. "She's like a family member to me. Whenever I'm around her, I feel human. It marveled me when she did it for the first time- it was something incredible." His blank eyes now focused n the giant man in front of him. "Don't you feel it too? Don't you feel human when she's with you? Don't you _feel alive for the first time?_"

"I didn't know you were so poetic." Sasori stiffly said, clearly uncomfortable with Deidara's sudden burst of enlightenment.

Deidara's anger seemed to slowly dissipate as silence filled the room. His angry features turned soft again as he sighed, his cheeks slightly pink in embarassment. "Shut up... yeah." He muttered, taking a seat next to Sasori on the couch.

"She'll be back." Kisame said gruffly, breaking the silence. "She always comes back."

Deidara didn't look at them.

"I know."

They all jumped in surprise as the door to the headquarters slammed open, immediately falling into a defensive stance, just as they were trained to do. An extremely familiar pink haired girl rolled her eyes at them, slamming the door behind her.

"Honestly guys, it's only me." Sakura said with her hands on her hips. Deidara's face turned even redder as he mentally thanked god that she hadn't been there to listen to his little poetic rant. She had only taken a few steps forwards when she felt something sharp sink into her foot- cursing, she immediately jumped, proceeding to fall onto her back on the pile of broken glass- courtesy of Deidara. "Ow, what the hell guys!" She cried with a wince, slowly getting up.

"Ah shit." Deidara swore, quickly running over to her. "I totally forgot about the glass. I accidentally broke it before and you came in before we could clean it up and-"

"You idiot, stop talking and help her up." Sasori said, rolling his eyes.

Deidara shakily helped her up, quickly seating her onto the couch. "Take your shirt off," He demanded, and both of their faces turned into a brilliant shade of red. "Wait, that came out so wrong- that's totally not what I meant-"

"Don't flatter yourself Sakura. It's not like we have anything to look at." Sasori said, throwing a first-aid kit over to Deidara who swiftly caught the small white box in his hands. She succeeded in throwing her shoe at the red-haired boy- a shoe that slammed into the wall, leaving a small crater behind. Her cheeks were still tinted pink when she took off her shirt, revealing a simple, black sports bra.

She nervously bit her lip, avoiding his gaze. "This is all your fault. I should sue you for this."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Deidara said, not paying attention to her words. "But for now, just sit still while I get these pieces of glass out of your back."

"I haven't seen you guys in ages and this is the way you greet me again?" She muttered under her breath, wincing as he prodded at her injury.

"Cheer up, little kunoichi." Kisame said, using her favorite nickname. Kisame had always joked around about how she had probably been a ninja in some past lifetime, which would explain her mysterious inhuman strength no one else possessed. "We're going back to Mist in two weeks now, not much time left." Sakura's face visibly darkened at his words.

"Are you worried about the Uchiha?" Deidara curiously asked- Kisame and Sasori both exchanged exasperated looks. The blonde was a good fighter, and an essential member to the Akatsuki, but he had absolutely no tact when it came to personal matters. Sakura's eyes narrowed at his words.

"Well he lives in Mist as well, so I guess I'll still see him from time to time." She admitted, casting her eyes back down. "But he has an arranged marriage back at home. He has to get married."

"Well doesn't that suck." Deidara muttered. "You keep meeting such crappy guys, Sakura-chan. I've told you time and time again, we should just get married to each other, as friends. We'd make a pretty awesome couple, if I may say so myself." She giggled at his words. "Don't forget our deal- if we're both still single at fifty, we're getting married." He reminded her, slightly relieved that she was feeling better again. He dipped a piece of white cotton into cleansing alcohol, and pressed it into her would. She let out a low hiss, biting her lip.

"Look here." Sasori called out in a deadpanned voice. Deidara and Sakura both whirled around to look at him, when they were blinded by a flash of light. Sakura blinked her green eyes a couple of times in confusion. When her eyes finally adjusted again, she saw the blue-skinned man admiring a picture he had just taken with the camera in his hand. "Cute. This is going to be a fine addition to my book." He said with as a satisfied grin, pocketing the camera. She let out a small cry of protest while Deidara simply glared at him.

"How does that fit into your book of accomplishments?" Sakura asked with a bewildered expression on her face.

"The accomplishment of Deidara's and your idiocy." Kisame simply answered, rolling his eyes. "I'll send you both a copy of the photo if it matters so much." Deidara ignored him as he finished bandaging the wound on her back, making sure that the bandages held before handing her shirt back. She had just finished putting her shirt back on when the door to one of the adjoining rooms opened. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as she faced the oldest Uchiha standing at the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Good afternoon, Sakura." Itachi said quietly, fanning his face with stray piece of paper. "I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Uh- yeah, I've been busy lately," Sakura admitted nervously, as he raised an eyebrow at her. "I've been busy... seeing someone." She confessed bashfully. She wasn't best friends with the Uchiha but she knew that it was wiser for him to hear it from her instead of someone else- he had a strange way of finding out things, and fast.

Itachi stared at her for a full minute. "My foolish little brother." He finally said with a curt nod. "You two seem to have something quite big going on. Are you sure it won't interfere with your future missions here?"

"Oh no, it's only for the summer." Sakura rushed worriedly. One of the biggest and most stressed rules of the Akatsuki was that members could not let their personal matters affect them in any way during a mission- and if these relationships happened to interfere, they were expected to be terminated almost immediately.

"I see." He replied, and she was relieved when he didn't question her any further. "We have to go back to Mist in two weeks. I expect all of you to be ready for our annual group shot as soon as we get back." Deidara groaned, but promptly shut up when Itachi's red eyes turned towards him. "I am not looking forward to it any more than you are, Deidara. But Leader requires us to do so."

"Awesome!" Sakura exclaimed. "Deidara, I get to braid your hair again."

"Oh no you don't. Last time I let you do that, you got bubblegum all over my hair. I had to cut half of it off!"

"That was a one time accident!"

Sakura cracked her knuckles threateningly as she glared at him. Deidara cursed under his breath- she was tiny and had _pink hair_- it couldn't get any less threatening than that, but sometimes he thought that she was the scariest person he had ever met. Including Itachi and the Leader. "Fine," He sighed in resignation, earning a squeal from the other girl. "But if you screw up this time, I'm never trusting you with my hair again."

Sasori felt the sweat rolling down his forehead increase as the pink haired devil turned around to face him with a big mischievous grin on her face. He knew that look all too well- it was a look she gave people when she wanted something and she knew she was going to get it. "No Sakura, you cannot choose my suit." He told her warily, ignoring her pout. "You bought me a flowered suit for last year's group shot. Did I mention that I wasn't very pleased?"

"It was a mistake, I swear!" Sakura protested, but Sasori did not miss the guilty look that flashed across her delicate features. "I told you, I ordered it online and they sent me the wrong one!"

"I always wondered why we couldn't take our annual group shot in our uniforms." Kisame grunted, taking a seat next to Sasori. "Isn't that kind of the whole point?"

"Because we always wear our uniforms! It's so bland. It's great that we get to take the picture in our own clothes, it's so much more expressive! Plus, we throw an afterparty and you know Leader wants us to be dressed for the occasion. We'll have important guests." Sakura said, sounding excited.

"Leader just likes the way all our 'important' guests like to stare at your legs." Deidara retorted, throwing an arm around the little girl. "It makes it easier for him to make deals with them."

"Aren't you supposed to be with Uchiha Junior?" Kisame asked her warily. She yelped, looking at the clock hanging on the wall. She winced, putting her shoe back onto her wounded foot and quickly said something that sounded like a short goodbye, as she bolted out of the room, waving before slamming the door behind her.

Silence loomed over the room once again, as Deidara sighed in depression. He tiredly eyed the pieces of glass on the floor, wondering if Kisame and Sasori would notice if he just happened to slip back into his room-

"I didn't know Sakura was involved with my brother." Itachi quietly said, and Deidara looked up at him in surprise- he had momentarily forgotten about the older Uchiha's presence in the room.

"Not for long." Deidara said, his face scrunching up in distaste. "That bastard's got an arranged marriage with some girl back at home, what a player."

The Uchiha stood still for a minute, his face impassive as Deidara curiously waited for his reaction. Red clashed with blue as they stared at each other for a moment. Kisame inwardly groaned, hoping that this wasn't an incoming fight- the last thing they needed was another fight in this heat. He just wanted to get the table fixed and especially the air conditioner- they would all feel a bit better when the air conditioner would be fixed.

Itachi didn't say another word as he disappeared back into his room, his door closing with a silent _click_.

_She always comes back._

_._

* * *

.

Sasuke looked at his wristwatch with an irritated sigh, before shoving his hand back into his pocket. His girlfriend had chosen a hell of a day to be late- it had to be one of the hottest days of the summer. He ran his other free hand through his raven locks, his eyes squinting as he looked for any sign of the pink haired girl. A couple of girls next to him giggled, whispering to each other as they not-so-subtly glanced at him. He rolled his eyes at them, turning to face the other direction.

The bus stop was crowded- something he highly despised. The flocks of giggling girls around him did not help much either. He was starting to regret the fact that he had decided to wear a dark blue shirt and a pair of black jeans- dark colors on clothing tended to intensify the heat coming from the sunlight. A girl squealed as she was pushed towards him by a bunch of her friends- blushing a brilliant shade of red, she asked for his number. He simply glared glared at her and turned the other way, hoping that Sakura had a very important reason for being late.

The Uchiha unconsciously felt a wave of relief wash over him as he spotted a familiar shade of pink move through the crowds. "Sakura," He growled, taking a few steps forward as the petite girl ran over towards him. The girls around him looked on at his new company with jealousy, whispering among themselves as Sakura approached him.

"Sasuke, I am so, _so_ sorry!" Sakura exclaimed, trying to catch her breath from all the running. "I had to stop by to see my boys, and you know, they're just a bunch of troublemakers." She chuckled, but abruptly stopped when she saw that he was not amused at all. "I lost track of time, sorry." She sheepishly apologized. Before she had a chance to say anything else, a bus pulled up, prompting Sasuke to grab her arm and drag her onto the vehicle.

Sakura's eyes slightly widened as they climbed onto the bus- every single girl seemed to snap her head around to look at the handsome raven haired boy. Sakura had always known that Sasuke was extremely popular with the girls, but this was downright creepy. "It's like you're a celebrity," She whispered in awe, as they took a seat at the back.

"This is ridiculous." He muttered, looking extremely irritated as he put on a pair of sunglasses. She watched her boyfriend quietly look out the window, without a word as he always did. He seemed to relax under the air conditioning in the bus, his broad shoulders easing as the tension in his body was released.

"What's on your mind right now?" She quietly asked him out of the blue, green eyes staring intently into his own. He didn't look back at her, but she could see him trying to think of an answer to give her.

"Aa. It's hot today." He murmured. "Summer has reached its peak. It's going to be over soon."

She bit her lip, her canine teeth digging in so viciously they almost drew blood. Why was everyone trying to remind her that her time was running out? She had been playing around with the thought in her head for awhile now- the only issue was how she was going to approach it with him. The clock was ticking, and this sounded like a good chance to take.

"Sasuke, I was wondering if I could ask you something." She said, avoiding his gaze now. "I was wondering if we could change the promise." He opened his mouth to deny her request, but she quickly beat him to it. "I mean I wanted to ask you if we could still be friends. Don't worry, I mean we can forget about all the romantic part of the relationship, just straight, platonic friends." She blurted out, making sure to speak as quickly as she could in order to get him to listen. When she was finished talking, she silently waited for his answer.

He sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging down. He knew better than to go against her stubborn mind. "Fine," He said, and gave her a look. "But you have to promise, we will only be friends."

She enthusiastically nodded her head, content that he had agreed. She knew that after two weeks, her relationship with Sasuke was going to be over- but the thought of being able to see the man she loved even after this summer was a little more comforting.

"Sasuke, Mist isn't a big city. Why haven't I seen you around before?" Sakura asked him curiously. She figured that they would have the time to kill while waiting for their destination in the bus.

"Mist is small, but crowded." He muttered. "I don't like crowded places."

"Big surprise there," She said, rolling her eyes, but she suspected that there was something more that he was not telling her. He was good at hiding his secrets, but she knew him inside out by now- however, she didn't press the matter, knowing that he probably didn't want to be pressured. "Your people skills impress me day after day," She added.

He stood up without a word, prompting her to look out the window. "Oh, we're here!" She exclaimed, and rushed out of the bus without waiting for him. He sighed, nestling her bag on his shoulder as he followed her out.

"What kind of summer would it be without the beach?" Sakura exclaimed, shielding her eyes with one hand as she made her way towards the sandy shore. Sasuke simply watched her as she ran into the sunlight, her light green summer dress rustling around her in the breeze. She shot him a grin, pulling out a straw hat to cover her pink head from the sun.

He looked down at his black sandals, trying to take his mind off of how good the outfit actually looked on her. "I can't believe you convinced me to come to the beach."

"And I can't believe you've never been to the beach before." Sakura shot back, glaring at him. "What normal person hasn't ever been to the beach at your age?"

"Someone like me."

"Yeah, but you're not normal."

"That's nice to hear from my girlfriend."

"Stop being so childish." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Quick, come join me on the sand!" She smiled as he joined her. She tugged on his hand and led him forwards, stopping a little way short from the waves. Her green eyes silently watched the waves crash onto the shore, her smile etched onto her face.

Before he could register what was happening, his mouth could only drop open as she proceeded to take her dress off, revealing a small, matching green two-piece swimsuit. His mouth dropped open as she ran towards the waves and jumped into the water, laughing as she did so. "Sakura, what the hell are you doing!" He yelled at her over the sounds of crashing waves. He glared at several boys who stopped to stare as the petite girl emerged from the water, flattening her pink hair.

"C'mon Sasuke, don't be a spoilsport and come join me!" She excitedly called, waving him over. His eyes widened in disbelief, as he briefly wondered if she was really expecting him to jump into the water.

It took one look at her face for him to realize that he had roughly three seconds to run away before Sakura caught up to him. "Don't you even _think_ about using your weird strength on me!" He yelled, taking a few steps back. It was all useless, however when she caught up to him, dragging him into the water. He squeezed his eyes shut as he took a headfirst dive into the ocean water.

When he re-emerged, she was already gone. He waited for a couple of seconds, looking at the horizon when her pink head popped back onto the surface, a couple of meters away from him. "I bet you can't catch me!" She shouted giddily, and disappeared under the water once more.

Sasuke smirked at her, deciding not to tell her that he had been in the junior swimming league throughout his childhood.

.

* * *

.

Hinata jumped in her seat when she was shaken out of her daydream as a servant scurried into the large dining hall, her footsteps echoing against the stone walls.

"Hinata-sama, there's a visitor at the door who keeps requesting to see you. We keep telling him to make an appointment at your workplace, but he absolutely refuses to leave- I apologize for disturbing you during your meal, Hinata-sama, but he absolutely refuses-"

Hinata silenced her as with a raise of the hand, and nodded. "I'll take c-care of it. Y-you are dismissed." She quietly said, and the maid bowed before exiting the room. The Hyuuga heiress quietly excused herself from the table, despite the fact that there was no one with her. Her lavender eyes looked down towards her empty plate before she turned on her heels, quickly heading towards the main entrance.

She stopped by an elegant mirror on the way, making sure that she looked physically presentable. Her father had always emphasized how important it was for her to look decent at all times- she had an image to carry, and this image held the weight of the whole Hyuuga family. She could almost hear his voice as she smoothed out her jet black hair- _Hinata, one day you will be the face of this family-_ she sadly smiled at herself as she straightened out her white shirt.

She yelped in surprise when she heard a familiar voice screaming as she got closer to the doorway. "I'm telling you, I'm Hinata-chan's friend! I even took her out on a date the other night! I swear- oh hey, Hinata-chan!" The familiar blonde frantically waved his hands as the guard at the door tried to block his way.

"He's with m-me." Hinata told he guard, who slowly lowered his arms. "G-good morning Naruto-kun. I d-didn't expect to see you here."

She squeaked in surprise as he shoved a bouquet of beautiful lilacs into her hands. "These are for you Hinata-chan! I was just stopping by on my way back to the school and I was wondering where you were." His smile stretched. "Anyways, I don't have much time left, but I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to come out for dinner tonight too."

"Of c-course!" She shyly said, giving him a timid smile as a blush quickly spread through her cheekls. She still did not understand why she was still blushing when he had succeeded in asking her to dinner almost every night for the past two weeks.

Naruto beamed at her. "Same place, same time?" He asked her, and she nodded. "I'd love to stay here and chat with you all day, Hinata-chan but my duties as a teacher are calling me." He sent her an apologetic look as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Only two more weeks and I'll be free of those brats. I'll swing by to pick you up later, Hinata-chan!"

She gave him a small wave as the guard pushed him out and closed the door behind him. Hinata smiled to herself, briefly bringing her hands up to her burning cheeks as she tried to keep the blush down. After giving the guard a polite thank you, she started making her way back to the extravant living room. She found Neji sitting on a couch next to the fireplace, quietly reading a book.

He did not take his white eyes off of the pages in front of him as his deep voice spoke out to her. "Hinata-sama, was that Uzumaki at the door again?" His features were contorted into a disapproving frown.

"Yes, N-Neji nii-san." She said timidly, not looking up to meet his stern gaze.

"How many times must I insist, Hinata-sama, you must stop meeting him. A boy like him will only bring disgrace into this family." He said coldly, shutting his book closed with a loud slam. "Your Father would not agree with this if he knew."

"N-Naruto-kun is a wonderful person!" Hinata blurted out, startling Neji. "You should g-give him a chance!"

"Hinata-sama, with all due respect, you have only known this Uzumaki boy for two weeks. I have known for a couple years now, and I know that he is a good for nothing. That is all I need to know to keep him away from you." He told her, and was surprised to see that for the first time, Hinata was glaring at him.

"I d-don't care what you s-say!" She said with a frown. "I will k-keep meeting him and I w-won't let you send him a-away! I am the h-heiress of this f-family and I w-will not allow f-for anyone to u-undermine me!"

Neji looked at her with a frown, wondering where the shy little Hinata had gone. Ever since they were little kids, everyone had always commented on how frail and weak the little Hinata was, how Neji would make a much better clan leader, how it was such a shame that he had been born into the branch house- it got to him every single time. When he was young, he had always been bitter about the fact that little Hinata was going to be the head of the family over him- he was much more worthy, _he_ was the one who should have been head of the family-

"Look at yourself!" He snapped, aware of the fact that he was losing his temper now. "Look at how he's influencing you already! It's dreadful!"

Hinata stayed quiet this time, her pearl white eyes glaring at him with an intensity he had never seen in her. "Neji nii-san, I have never disrespected you, even once. I expect you to do the same." His eyes widened at her determined tone and lack of stutter. Neji was confused now- a month and a half ago, he had been living a decent life. Now, after some time, he felt that everything had completely changed. How could everything screw up so badly in such a short amount of time?

.

* * *

.

Kankuro really hadn't planned on staying long when he and Temari had suddenly decided to visit their younger brother in Leaf. He thought that their stay would have lasted one or two days maybe three. He certainly didn't think he was going to still be here two weeks later. He didn't want to complain- his hotel suite was absolutely great, and the city was magnificent too- but he wasn't particularly keen on having his psychotic younger brother stalk his hotel room- which was exactly what Gaara was doing at that moment.

Kankuro couldn't help but shoot nervous glances at his redhead brother, who had been sitting in the same exact position for the last two hours on a couch in his hotel suite. "Uh, d'you want a drink or something?" Kankuro asked, wiping the sweat off his brow. Gaara's eyes, which hadn't left the television screen for the past two hours, didn't even flicker towards Kankuro's direction. "I guess not." Kankuro answered, pouring himself a glass of scotch.

The door to the suite opened, as their oldest sibling came in holding a couple of shopping bags. "Hey guys, I'm back!" Temari called over her shoulder, closing the door behind her.

"Where were you?" Gaara's voice was sharp and cold. "Do you have any idea of how long you've been out?"

"Oh yeah, _now_ he decides to speak." Kankuro muttered, rolling his eyes as he took another sip from his glass.

"Uh, hello? Last time I checked, _I_ was the oldest sibling." Temari said, setting her bags down and putting a hand on her hip.

"Well, Gaara has a point!" Kankuro exploded accusingly. "You always go off on your own! And I thought you were the one who said that we should stick together during our stay here! What the hell are you hiding from us?"

Temari shrugged off her coat, rolling her eyes at her younger brothers. "I cant give up on a chance to play shogi with Shikamaru." She told them nonchalantly. "I've heard he's like the biggest genius prodigy ever. Quite a disappointment, really."

"And it takes an entire day to play a game?" Kankuro scoffed.

"Great minds need time to think." Temari snapped, effectively intimidating her brother. "It seems that you've forgotten who the oldest is, Kankuro." She narrowed her eyes at him, as he hastily emptied the contents of the glass into his mouth.

"Fine, fine I give up, you old hag." He muttered under his breath, flinching as Temari let out a threatening growl.

"Is Shikamaru your boyfriend?" Gaara tonelessly asked, causing Kankuro to choke on his drink. Temari coyly smiled and winked at him in response.

"Wouldn't you like to know, little brother."

.

* * *

.

"You never told me you were a good swimmer Sasuke."

Sakura tried to catch her breath as she collapsed onto the dark blue towel Sasuke had lent her. He sat next to her on his own matching towel, both decorated with the Uchiha crest. She looked over towards him, surprised to see that he was not out of breath at all. "How do you do it?" She panted, turning her head back into the sun's direction. "You're a monster, Sasuke."

"You never asked," He said pointedly, and she sighed, too tired to come up with a witty remark for him. They sat around quietly for another minute, while he waited for his partner to catch her breath. "You feeling alright?"

"Sasuke, do you love me?"

"... Sakura, why are you-"

"Just answer the question, Sasuke."

"... I care for you Sakura. But this is just a summer fling."

_It's just a summer fling._


	13. Stab My Back

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_It's just a summer fling._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**Stab My Back**

"_The phone rings, and she screams;_

_'Stab my back, it's better when I bleed for you._

_Walk on me, there was never enough for you to do.'"_

_._

_._

_._

One week.

Seven days.

A month ago, Sakura had wished for time to slow down; now, she realized that it had been the complete opposite. The weeks had gone by in the blink of an eye, and on a bright Sunday morning, the pink haired girl found herself laying around on her bed, sighing to herself as she glanced at the calendar. The days had slipped through her fingers- the thought of leaving in a week made her sick to her stomach.

Despite the fact that it was a beautiful day outside and it was a Sunday, Sasuke had been called away for a business meeting. Seeing as he could not take care of his business on weekdays because of his job here at Konohagakure, the only time he had for them were the weekends. She found herself disappointed at not being able to spend their last free Sunday together. He was probably somewhere organizing his wedding with the other woman.

Trying to take the upsetting thoughts out of her head, she scrunched up her face in attempt to find someone to keep her company on this day. Normally, she would have spent it relaxing at her dorm and watching TV, but she was too restless to stay still. She eyed the other two empty beds, wondering where her roommates were.

Kiba had been often disappearing these days- she would have been worried if not for his reassurance that he was perfectly safe. He took Akamaru with him too at times, leaving the room late at night and sometimes not coming back for days. He would always come back for class, but rarely back to their dorms. Sakura had suspected maybe a girlfriend or something of the sort- until he explained to her that his older sister was in town for a couple of weeks, and she had brought Akamaru's siblings with her. His sister's job had her moving around a lot, so he rarely had the chance to stay with her for a long time.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was extremely busy as well, having his hands full. He was always out either with Temari or Ino. Ino would always drag him around the shopping mall, and on days she felt merciful, she would even take him out for a meal instead of their usual shopping rounds. Temari, on the other hand would always challenge him to shogi over and over again- sometimes she won and sometimes he did; they were fairly equal. Sakura sometimes wondered what their strange love triangle was like. She shuddered at the thought of a threesome.

So her roommates were too busy for her. She tried to think of her other friends, wondering if they would be free to keep her company.

Sakura hadn't seen Neji since their last meeting at the coffee shop, but she had heard that he had recently developed a strange but close friendship with Lee and Tenten (all of this, according to Lee). Apparently, they coudl always be found at the Blooming Lotus exchanging friendly words (according to Tenten, it was mostly Lee talking and Neji being annoyed). Sakura smiled to herself, glad that she and Neji had both moved on from their little ordeal. Any romantic feelings she had been harboring for the Hyuuga had completely disappeared, although she hoped that one day they would be able to be friends again.

As for Neji's roommates... Gaara had recently been spending all his time with his siblings, who had prolonged their stay in Leaf. She didn't specifically know what they did all together- well she knew that Temari was out most of the time with Shikamaru- but Gaara would enter the hotel suite and stay there for hours, until a pale faced, sweating Kankuro would run out of the building looking absolutely terrified. No one quite knew what happened inside their room, and Sakura had a feeling no one would ever know either.

Shino had already gone back to Mist before everyone else. Sakura regretted the fact that she had never had the chance to get to know the boy properly, but by the way he had spoken to her a few times, she knew he was a polite and well-mannered boy. He had left around a week ago to join the rest of his family on a camping trip to study insects. Sakura sighed, thinking that if he had been here, she would have taken this chance to talk to him some more.

Naruto was probably busy with Hinata. They had been having meals together every single day- they claimed they were mere friends, but it didn't take a genius to clearly see that there was something between them. By the way Naruto's baby blue eyes would sparkle when he was with her, and how Hinata almost fainted at the smallest physical contact with him, it was all fairly obvious. Like Kakashi would say, underneath the underneath.

Sakura's eyes brightened up as she thought of the older silver-haired man who probably had today off. Throughout the month, she had spent a lot of time talking to Kakashi (mostly over the phone because he was always holed up in his office). She had grown to admire him somewhat as a fatherly figure, except for the time he spent being a completely inappropriate pervert. Of course he was way too young to be her father, but the mature advice he always gave her made her feel safe and reassured.

He was someone who could understand.

She quickly dialed his number and waited as the phone rang a couple of times, before the man picked up.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She blurted out happily, silently crossing her fingers in hopes that he would be free today. "Please tell me you have the day off. If I spent another minute in this room on my own, I will _die_ of boredom."

Kakashi let out a light chuckle, before answering her. "Well then Sakura, would you like to join me for lunch? I was hoping I wouldn't have to eat on my own." He could almost imagine the girl on the other end of the line lighten up, a pretty smile stretched on her face.

"That sounds great!" She exclaimed.

"Where's Sasuke? He'd have my head if he knew I was asking you out to lunch."

Sakura's smile fell as she winced. "Well, he's out. Making... plans." He didn't pry further- all it took was her sullen voice to alert him that this probably wasn't a good subject to approach over the phone. He immediately changed the subject, telling her to start getting ready for he would come pick her up at the school gates at noon. Looking at the clock and realizing that she didn't have much time to get ready, she agreed and hung up.

She sighed, jealous that all her friends had someone to be with right now. It was true, she had Sasuke, but sometimes he was busy with his own personal matters. She had learned to respect his privacy over time, and even though he didn't show it, she knew that he was grateful all the same. Apart from that, their relationship had to be kept quiet in school, so they could not spend too much time together during the weekdays either. It was a bit painful how they had to act like mere student and teacher during class, or at least it was for her.

Sakura mentally scolded herself- there was no time to think of such thoughts. She had to quickly get ready and meet Kakashi out in around ten minutes, an almost impossible feat for a girl to accomplish. She rapidly changed out of her pajamas and into a simple pair of jeans, spending a few minutes looking for her white wife beater. She finally found it under Kiba's bed, among many other things, some which even belonged to Shikamaru. She briefly wondered how all those things had gotten there in the first place.

Ten minutes later, she was waiting in front of the school gates, enjoying the breeze. Summer was coming to an end now, and the weather was no longer impossibly hot. The sun was still strong and shining, but now there was a light breeze that hinted at the arrival of fall soon.

Forty minutes after that, she was still standing outside the school gates. Sakura was beginning to regret having agreed to meeting Kakashi-sensei when a silver Mercedez pulled up, the window rolling down to reveal the very late man.

"You're late Kakashi-sensei." Sakura grit out accusingly, glaring at him. She was slumped against the metal gates, the intense light of the sun starting to get to her. Kakashi sheepishly scratched the back of his head, shooting her an apologetic crinkle of the eye. "Spare me the lie," She interrupted as he opened his mouth to speak. "I don't need to hear it," She added, getting into the car as she relished in the shade.

It was short lived, however, as he pulled up towards the Blooming Lotus.

"You could have told me to just wait there!" She exclaimed in frustration. "It's barely across the street! Why on earth did you bring your car here?"

"Well, it's a long way from my office to the Blooming Lotus." The older man said with a nonchalant shrug. "I thought I'd pick you up on the way."

She would never, _ever_understand Kakashi's logic. She decided against the idea of arguing with him, because he would probably just confuse her even more.

"I haven't been to the Blooming Lotus in ages." Kakashi said cheerfully, parking the car. "My friend runs it, you see. His name is Maito Gai. He's usually never around but when I told him I'd be dropping by today, he agreed to visit."

"What's he like?" Sakura asked curiously, trying to place a face on the owner of the Blooming Lotus.

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a second as he turned off the car engine. "He's a clone of Lee. Or rather, Lee is a clone of him." Sakura slightly winced, imagining an older man dressed in a green spandex suit with busy eyebrows and the bowl-cut hair, doing Lee's infamous pelvic dance.

"... I see." She said with a grimace, and he chuckled at the disgusted look on her face. They both got off the car and walked towards the entrance- a feeling of dread locked itself in the bottom of her stomach as Kakashi pushed opened the doors of doom.

She had not expected her personal image of Gai to be so identical to the actual real person.

"Now, now Kakashi! You didn't tell me such a beautiful damsel was going to be joining us for lunch." A deep voice spoke up loudly, and Sakura just stood at the doorway, her eyes wide open as she looked at the beast standing in front of her.

"I thought you weren't joining us either Gai." Kakashi mirthfully said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you said you'd only stop by to say hi. Didn't you have other business to take care of?"

"It's all taken care of!" Gai said, dramatically waving a hand around in the air. "Come, come! The rest of our youthful pupils are waiting for us at a table I have especially organized for you."

She stood frozen for a couple more seconds until Kakashi nudged her with his elbow. "Ah, n-nice to meet you!" Sakura nervously stammered, forcing a smile onto her face as she remembered her manners. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he looked. Maybe he was a polite, nice, decent man-

"It is a pleasure to meet Lee's future wife!" Gai exclaimed, flashing her with a blinding smile and a thumbs up.

HE WAS A MONSTER.

"Sakura already has a companion." Kakashi told his friend, casting a worried glance at Sakura's extremely strained smile.

"Ah do not worry, my friend! I am sure that one day, Lee's youthful powers shall prevail! But for now, you should join us quickly. Lee has brought some friends along too! It'll be like a nice family reunion!"

Sakura silently prayed that Lee's friends were not other clothes of Gai.

Her strained smile immediately disappeared and was replaced with an expression of momentary shock when Gai led them to the back of the coffee shop, to reveal Hyuuga Neji, Tenten and Lee sitting at a table that had been prepared for them. Her mouth would have dropped open if it wasn't for Kakashi's light squeeze on her shoulder for reassurance. He gave her an apologetic glance, that indicated that he hadn't been expecting this either.

"Gai, I was hoping to enjoy my lunch with Sakura alone-"

"Nonsense Kakashi!" The other man roared. "The more people there are, the more delicious our lunch will be!"

Sakura nervously glanced at the three members already sitting down. "Good afternoon," She quietly said. Despite the lack of romantic feelings towards Neji, she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as they had never fully talked things out at their last meeting almost a month ago. They had left things unsolved and awkward- definitely not the ideal situation to face when having lunch together.

"Aw we're all friends here so we can cut the ice! Yosh!" Lee exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. The situation grew even more awkward as no one had a response to his energetic outburst.

"Lee, just shut up." Tenten said irritably, rolling her eyes. "So, how are things going between you and Uchiha-san?" Tenten politely asked, as Sakura and Kakashi took a seat. The pink haired girl visibly tensed up for a second, before regaining her composure. She was about to answer that things were going wonderfully when Neji's voice cut through the conversation.

"How can things be possibly going well when he has an arranged marriage waiting for him back home?"

Sakura tensed up once again as Tenten's eyes widened. Kakashi shot him a warning look, that Neji obviously missed as he continued. "He probably didn't invite you to his own wedding."

"It's not his fault. It was arranged for him before he was even born." Sakura coldly said, trying to defend her partner. "And I'm grateful that he didn't invite me to his wedding. Any man with enough sense would know not to invite his ex-girlfriend to a wedding."

"But I thought that you two would remain friends without any romantic feelings at all after the relationship ends." Neji said calmly, looking at her straight in the eyes. "If he really wants to stay friends with you, wouldn't he invite you to such an important event in his life?" Sakura was about to protest, when Neji cut her off again. "You deserve better than him Sakura, and you know it. He's using you as a distraction."

"Stop it Neji." Kakashi's voice was quiet, and his eye was crinkled up into a smile, but none of them missed the dark threat that was lying under his words. "I don't think it's any of your business now, is it?"

"It's okay Kakashi-sensei, I don't need any words of sympathy." She said, giving him a light smile. "I'm happy right now, and that's all that counts." Neji looked like he was about to say something again, when Tenten elbowed him in the ribs. He coughed and glared at her.

"Sakura-san, I heard your school is having a party this Friday to celebrate the end of the summer course!" Lee quickly exclaimed, noticing her discomfort.

"Oh yeah!" Sakura's face brightened up, welcoming the distraction. "It's a formal dance party, and I don't have any dresses... so I guess I'm going to have to go shopping with Ino soon." Her face scrunched up into a frown, as Tenten laughed. Everyone had seen enough of Ino dragging Shikamaru along to see how tiring it could be to go shopping with the blonde.

"Oh, and by the way Sakura, Kakashi-sensei is moving our company to Mist!" Tenten exclaimed excitedly. "I hear that you, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and everyone else live there as well! We're all going to be living in the same city from now on!" Sakura's eyes brightened up.

"Kakashi-sensei, you never told me this! And all this time I was telling you how much I'd miss everyone when I left... you were lying to me!" She exclaimed accusingly. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, giving her a pat on the head.

"I never lied to you Sakura- I simply didn't give you the truth." He gave her a wink.

"Isn't it going to be wonderful? We're going to have a great time together!" Tenten exclaimed.

_And Sasuke is going to be married to another girl._

_._

* * *

.

"Hello? Sasuke-kuuuun? I haven't heard from you in so long!"

The voice coming from the other end of the phone screeched so loudly that the young Uchiha winced, holding the phone away from his delicate ears. He thought that he would be able to handle anything, after being around Naruto's loud voice for so long, but this was a whole new level of loud.

"Ayame-san." He said stiffly, not returning her affectionate tone. "I imagine my father has informed you of my arrival from the city of Leaf at the end of this week." His voice was slightly bitter, but if she noticed it, she gave no signs of acknowledging it.

"Of course Sasuke-kun! I'll be coming to greet you at the airport!" The girl answered excitedly.

"No, there's no need for that." Sasuke said in a monotonous tone, not wanting to imagine Sakura's face when she would see Ayame running up and jumping onto him at the airport. "I'll have my driver pick me up."

"Don't bother Sasuke-kun, I'll be there!"

He sighed in frustration, knowing that there was no way to stop the girl from doing what she wanted. Ayame really was one of the worst. "My father wanted me to call you. I hear that you have decided on a date for the wedding."

"Oh, that's so nice of you Sasuke-kun! I bet you're dying to know when the date is! I suggested a month after your arrival, in the month of October, when the red and yellow leaves swirl around us... wouldn't that be _so _romantic?" She excitedly babbled into the phone. Sasuke was only half-listening.

"Fine, a month." He answered tonelessly, and quickly hung up the phone before she could say anything else. The phone started to ring once again, as he disgustedly stared at the name "AYAME" brightly flashing on his LED screen, as the object vibrated over and over again in his hands. He roughly shoved it back into his pocket, sitting back to relax against the rough leather couch.

He was getting married in a month.

A small part of him wished it was Sakura.

.

* * *

_._

_Their last day._

Their last week had been busy and frantic. Sasuke and Sakura had both tried to find as much time as possible for each other, but between all the end of the course activities and tests, the time was barely enough for them to enjoy.

Sakura sighed to herself as she rolled over on her bed, eyeing the new pale blue book that sat next to her pink one from the Akatsuki. She simply stared at it for a couple of seconds, before grabbing it off the end table and laying it open in front of her. She flipped through the new, fresh pages, which mostly consisted of photographs of her and Sasuke together. They were all her summer memories.

She wondered what she would do with these pictures once their relationship would be over in less than a day. Would she throw them away? Rip them apart? Mourn over them? Keep them locked in her closet? She sighed again as she looked at the clock, the minutes passing by too quickly for her liking.

Shopping with Ino on the previous day had proved to be exhausting, but with good results. Even though Ino could be demanding and quite scary when she marched around the shopping mall, she was always right. While Sakura's fashion sense was close to hitting the ground, Ino knew exactly what would look good and what would look like a terrible combination when it came to clothes. Sakura eyed the new addition to her wardrobe laying out on Shikamaru's bed- a beautiful strapless pearly white dress, which looked like it would comfortably hug her upper figure tightly before billowing out at the waist. It actually quite reminded her of a wedding dress.

She glanced towards the closed door to the living room, where Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto were waiting for her to finish getting ready and come out. Sakura had taken a shower, but didn't know how to progress from there. She lay on her bed, her body simply wrapped up in a towel as she tried to remember all the tips Ino had given her a couple of hours ago on the phone.

Sakura was no make-up guru but she knew how to apply the basics, thanks to her best friend. She carefully applied the right amount of light make-up to her face, just enough to accentuate her best features. She unwrapped the towel from her head, letting her wet pink locks fall down her back. Ino had told her to buy a curling iron, but Sakura knew that if she just let her hair dry the way it was right now, they would fall into natural wavy curls of their own. She glanced over at the dress once again, looking extremely nervous.

"Sakura-chan, it's time!" Nauto's loud voice shouted, accompanied by a knock on the door.

She jumped in surprise, and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart down before she answered. "H-hold up a second! I'm almost ready!" She hastily responded, and proceeded to quickly put on the beautiful satin dress Ino had picked out for her. Just as Ino had predicted, the top part of her dress perfectly fit her torso, the bottom half billowing out to her feet, short enough to show off her white heels every time she took a step foward.

Naruto let out a low whistle as Sakura stepped out of her room. "Teme's a lucky man tonight." He commented with a wink, while Kiba enthusiastically gave her an approving nod. "I bet he's going to fall over when he sees you! I'm totally jealous!"

Despite her nervousness, Sakura let out a light laugh, linking her arms with her blond friend. She felt a bit bad for the boy, knowing that he had been dying to bring Hinata as his date- but it was a school party, and outsiders were not allowed to come, which was why Hinata was sitting at home while Naruto was dressed in a horrible clashing orange suit. Sakura was secretly glad that Hinata was not there to witness the horror.

"Everyone else is waiting for us downstairs." Naruto informed her, as they walked down the hallway, Shikamaru and Kiba in tow. "Sasuke-teme sent me a text earlier telling me he'd be waiting for you at the party. He'll never admit it, but he probably spent all afternoon obsessing over his hair." His eyes sparkled as she let out another giggle, the tension slowly easing from her petite form.

Sakura's shoulders fell when she noticed that Sasuke wasn't there yet. "We got here pretty early. Just wait awhile, he'll probably be here soon." Kiba tried to comfort her reassuringly.

Sakura couldn't help but be disappointed that Sasuke was late. This was going to be their last night together- tomorrow, they would wake up as two separate people, and return home to their separate lives that would no longer include each other. She wanted to savor their last moment as much as possible, but here he was, wasting his time in being late. She mentally reminded herself to punch him in the arm later on.

.

* * *

.

"He said he would be here!"

Naruto's furious voice did nothing to stop the tears that had unconsciously gathered in her eyes. She blinked them back, as realization hit her hard. The party was now close to being over, and Sasuke had not shown up yet. He wasn't answering any of her phone calls, and Naruto had checked his room- no one had answered there either.

He wouldn't be that cruel, she told herself. He knew how much their last day mean to her, he wouldn't be cruel enough to disappoint her like this-

"Naruto, the party's almost over now. I don't think he's coming." Sakura said bitterly, biting back a sob.

"Don't give up hope Sakura-chan." Naruto kept on saying, but his voice sounded doubtful as well. She just shook her head, knowing that it would be easier for her to give up now rather than have her hopes crushed even deeper later.

Naruto's eyes widened as his phone started to vibrate in his hand. He took one look at the name flashing on the screen before shooting Sakura a nervous smile. "I'll be right back Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei's calling me." He lied, grateful that she was too distressed to see through his false words. He rushed out of the loud room and into the warm summer air, as he flipped open his phone.

"Sasuke-teme, where the HELL are you?" Naruto growled into his phone angrily. "It's your last night with Sakura-chan, she's been waiting for you all freaking night! You better have a good excuse this time."

There was a pause. "I'm back in Mist." Sasuke quietly replied, and Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. "I flew back his morning. Turns out I had to be here a bit earlier than expected."

"And you didn't think you should let your girlfriend now?" Naruto asked, disgusted at his friend for the first time ever.

"My father needed me." Sasuke's tone was extremely dull.

"For the wedding?" Naruto retorted.

"Yes, The wedding was planned sooner than expected, so I had to leave."

"How dare you be so selfish?"

Naruto's voice was not loud, nor furious. It was something much worse than that- Naruto was disappointed. "Do you have any idea how much Sakura-chan had to prepare herself for tonight?" Sasuke winced on the other end of the line. "How dare you just leave without giving her a proper goodbye on your last night together? After all you guys went through?"

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Sasuke finally snapped, anger seeping into his words. "It's not like I can defy my father's orders! Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you think I _like_ being here with some clingy girl I'm going to get married to?"

Naruto's anger died down at hearing his friend's words. Sasuke was right- he had no choice.

"You... Sasuke-teme... do you know how much you mean to her?" Naruto asked his friend softly. There was a silence on the other end.

"We have both agreed that this was only a summer fling. Nothing more."

A girl's voice was heard squealing in the background. "I have to go Naruto, she's here."

"What do I tell Sakura-chan?"

"... It would be only fair to tell her the truth."

.

* * *

.

Sakura numbly stared back at him, blank green eyes unblinking as she slowly took in what Naruto had just told her.

"Na...Naruto, I think I'll go back to my room now." She said dumbly, and walked past him, through the doors. Her feet automatically took her out of the noisy room and into the silent school building, through the quiet halls leading down to her dorm until she was finally standing in front of her door. She didn't notice the tears that had spilled over, ruining the make-up that she had tried so hard to put on.

Shikamaru and Kiba, who had both grew tired of the party early on, were already waiting for her in the dimly lit room when she opened the door. "Already back?" Shikamaru asked, before he took a proper look at her face. If she was in any condition to, she would have laughed at Shikamaru's look of surprise at her tear-stained face. It was a rare sight to see him so startled. "What the- Kiba, get your ass over here!" He called to their other roommate, who came bursting through the door to their bedroom.

"What do you want- whoah Sakura-chan! What's wrong?" The canine boy asked worriedly, rushing to her side as he gently rubbed her back, trying to calm her down as she hiccuped in his arms. "Did something happen at the party? Did you finally break up with the Uchiha?"

Sakura looked up at him with bright green eyes brimming with tears. "He never showed up." she whispered, launching herself further into Kiba's arms, sobbing on his shoulder. "He lied and promised he would be there... he promised our last day here would be the best... but he flew back to Mist to carry out his wedding plans." Her voice was broken as she spoke. Kiba quietly carried her to the couch and seated her between himself and Shikamaru.

The lazy genius shot Kiba a warning look to tell him to be quiet- Kiba complied, not knowing what to do with a crying Sakura. She finally calmed down on her own, and her sobs finally subsided as she started to breath deeply, exhausting herself into a deep sleep.

"That bastard..." Kiba seethed through gritted teeth, his sharp black eyes narrowing down into a glare. "What kind of guy does that to his girl?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"The'll be seeing each other again soon." Shikamaru told him. "We all live in the same city after all."

"He better not show his face anywhere near Sakura…" Kiba growled. "Or I'll tear him to pieces."

Shikamaru looked at the pink haired girl now sleeping next to his, her tear stains still glimmering in the light.

_Uchiha better have a good excuse for this._


	14. So Long Sweet Summer

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_Uchiha better have a good excuse for this._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**So Long Sweet Summer**

"_It's cold where you're going,_

_I hope that your heart's always warm."_

_._

_._

_._

On the next morning, the sky was a depressing shade of gray and covered in clouds, a sharp contrast to the beautiful weather they had been having throughout their two month stay. The atmosphere around the group was extremely gloomy; Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru and Kiba were going back to Mist. Gaara was going back to Suna, and Tenten, Hinata, Lee and Kakashi were going to see them off, since they weren't going to move to Mist for another two weeks.

Sakura simply wanted to forget this summer experience; so much for the summer romance she had been expecting. She had been a naive little girl to believe that Sasuke had actually treasured her like she thought he did. He was older and about to be married- despite his cold exterior, he was a man after all, and had probably enjoyed her company as his last moments of freedom before marriage. This entire so-called 'relationship' with Sasuke had proved to her that not all stories had happy endings. She tried to convince herself that she would be able to forget him soon.

The bus ride back to the airport was silent. No one spoke much, everyone either exhausted from the party on the previous night, or simply sad at the summer being already over. Usually, Naruto would have talked his mouth off during the entire trip back, but he seemed to be lost in thought as the bus rode on. Sakura briefly wondered if Naruto was depressed over the fact that he would not be seeing the Hyuuga heiress for another two weeks- while instead, Naruto was actually struggling to decide whether to tell Sakura that Sasuke was going to be picking him up at the airport.

He decided not to.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief when the bus finally came to a stop. She couldn't wait to take the plane ride home and just fall asleep in the privacy of her own room. The first goodbyes had already commenced- Gaara, Temari and Kankuro had to go their own ways for their plane ride to Suna was on the other side of the airport. Sakura bid them all a safe return, exchanging phone numbers and e-mail addresses along with promises to keep in touch.

Their second rounds of goodbyes started when they entered the gates area, meaning that Kakashi and the others could not follow them. Kakashi, Tenten, Hinata and Lee all cheerfully waved at the rest, with promises to be in Mist within the next to weeks. Hinata blushed a brilliant shade of bright red as Naruto gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Sakura did not miss how Tenten's gaze lingered on Neji until the very end.

Soon, it was only her, Naruto, Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru. She suspected that her fellow Akatsuki companions were keeping themselves disguised and well hidden for their flight back. She caught a brief glimpse of a tall young man wearing a cap over his long blond hair and a pair of sunglasses disguising his his bright blue eyes. He gave her a small thumbs up sign, receiving a smile in return.

_Deidara._

One by one they were all disguised, each and every one of them keeping an eye out for her.

"Come on guys, we have to board the plane." Naruto called her out of her thoughts as he dragged her towards the entrance to the plane. She found her seat in the middle row, conveniently seated between Kiba and Shikamaru. Neji and Naruto both had aisle seats to the side, which the latter begrudgingly accepted.

"I guess this summer's finally over." Kiba said in a melancholic voice, at which she sadly smiled in return. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Yeah, I guess it's over now Kiba." She said, and let out a dejected sigh. "I wonder what I'll do now. Not many schools are going to be willing to take me in."

"You should come to my school!" Kiba said excitedly. "School of Hidden Mist!"

"Been there already." Sakura let out another sigh. "I was expelled a few years back." His shoulders dropped in disappointment. "What about you Shikamaru?" She hopefully asked her other friend.

"Public international school of Mist." He replied, with his eyes closed.

"Been there too." Sakura said in a deadpanned voice.

"Damn… there's gotta be a place that you haven't been to!" Kiba exclaimed.

"We can think of that when we get back home," Sakura told him. "Let's just enjoy the plane ride back for now."

"Goodbye, city of Leaf," Naruto said softly as he looked out the window, the plane picking up speed and finally departing.

_Goodbye summer_.

.

* * *

.

When the plane finally landed, they were all tired and eager to go home. Quickly collecting their suitcases, they exited the doors to the public section of the airport, each looking around for a familiar face to pick them up. "That's my mom," Shikamaru said lazily and sighed. "Guess it's back to the old life for me. Bye guys, I'll keep in touch."

Sakura's eyes slightly watered as she gave her roommate a tight hug and a goodbye, slightly wistful as she watched him walk away towards his mother, who smothered him into a deadly hug. They had shared room for two entire months after all; she would miss having his presence around her almost 24/7. She turned around to face her other roommate, who gave her an excited grin.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, we don't live that far! Let's have much more fun in Mist this year." He gave her a big hug. She gave him a small peck on the cheek, leaving him blushing with a wild grin on his face. "I'll see you soon." He waved as he walked off towards an elderly woman who had similar red markings on her cheeks. She gave him one last sad smile, as he waved once again.

"My driver is here." Neji quietly said, and turned towards Naruto and Sakura. "I had a very good summer." He paused, facing the pink haired girl. "Sakura, I hope you can forgive me for what happened. I hope we will remain good friends." Her face split into a big smile as she gave him a short hug. He nodded at Naruto, before he walked towards a man dressed in a suit who took his suitcases from him as he led him outside.

"Sakura-chan, I should say goodbye to you now-"

"Dobe, there you are."

Sakura froze, not daring to turn around. She would recognize that cold, distant voice anywhere. She blinked back a couple tears before throwing herself into Naruto's arms. "I'll miss you," She whispered into his ear, before she picked up her own suitcase and ran out of the airport, not daring to look back at the man who had broken her heart.

.

* * *

.

The pink haired girl sighed as she entered her empty apartment, tossing her keys casually aside after she locked the door behind her. She threw her bags easily to the floor, tiredly collapsing onto her desk chair and turning her computer on.

She closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for her laptop to turn on. She let her mind relax, as she opened her eyes again, staring at the blank ceiling. It was strange to be back home in her cramped apartment- in her own lifeless room, without the sound of the pages of a book being turned or Kiba's loud snores. Akamaru's barks and the sound of someone watching the TV- she missed it all. When she looked back at the computer, she proceeded to check her inbox for any new messages. She softly smiled when she saw her inbox was quite full.

She opened the first e-mail sitting at the top of her inbox.

**User Screen Name: Icha Icha Kakashi (Hatake Kakashi) **(She had to roll her eyes at his screen name.)

_Hey Sakura, did you have a safe trip home? It's been about thirty minutes since we left you at the airport and you're probably on the airplane by now. Anyways, poor Hinata seems a bit down after Naruto's departure, and you should hear how much Tenten is talking about Neji, it's almost ridiculous. Although all she's doing is insulting him, I have a feeling that she's interested in him. No offence right?_

_Anyways, I might be a bit busy when I'll first move to Mist, which is in two weeks but I'm sure we'll be seeing each other at Sasuke's wedding right? Well let me know! __Ja ne,_

_-Kakashi!_

**User Screen Name: Troublesome Days (Nara Shikamaru)**

_hey sakura, its shikamaru. i hope you're doing good, i just got back home and my mom's already trying to make me deaf. anyways i know this really nice place downtown and thought that we could maybe meet up this weekend with the others. believe it or not, i actually miss sharing a room with you and kiba. although i dont miss kiba's loud voice, akamaru pissing all over the place or you destroying our furniture when you got mad._

_temari says she'll be visiting soon with gaara but not kankuro since he's gunna be gone visiting the city of waterfall. anyways, let me know about this weekend._

_later,_

_-shikamaru_

Just what she had expected from him; lack of grammar which sent obvious signals of his laziness within his email. She made a mental note to call him later about this weekend before scrolling down to read some other messages people had sent her.

**User Screen Name: HyuugaByakugan (Hyuuga Neji)**

_Dear Sakura,_

_I hope you had a safe trip home. I am back at my home right now, and Hinata-sama has sent me an email; she sends you and the others her best regards._

_Anyways, moving onto different matters: Shikamaru has contacted me asking if we can meet up this weekend downtown. I am free to go, I'm hoping that you can be there as well, so we can keep in touch even after summer._

_Let me know soon,_

_-Sincerely,_

_Hyuuga Neji_

She smiled as she thought how each email had its own characteristics, showing who the person was. Kakashi's email was full of humorous and caring words, while Shikamaru's had a lack of grammar, showing off his usual trait of being lazy. Neji's email was elegant and formally written, a trait of his own.

**User Name: DogsRuleYouDrool (Inuzuka Kiba) **(She scoffed at his screen name.)

_hey sak! u doin well? anyways, i just got home and akamaru seems 2 b pretty happy to b bak. im actually kinda glad to b bak home, i missed it a lot here. believe it or not, lazyass shika has organized sumthin for us this weekend. im expectin u 2 b there kk?_

_-cya soon!_

_The 1 n only amazing Kiba-sama_

She laughed at his email and had difficulties in reading some parts. Honestly, Kiba could've at least used some decent words to help her understand. Had Shikamaru really sent an email to everyone in Mist they knew to meet up downtown? It was an unexpected gesture from the lazy genius' part.

**User Name: Ramen Rules! (Uzumaki Naruto)**

_hey sakura-chan!1 how are u? Everything good? IM FINALLY BAK HOME YEAH! Haha i sound really happy dont i? That cuz back here, i have my entire supply of RAMEN RAMEN RAMEN!11 datte ba yo! Nywayz, shikamaru organized something for this weeked although i already forget what. Oh well, i guess i'll be seeing you this weekend then!_

_Oh and btw, sasuke invites you to his wedding. Yah. He's too much of a coward, and yes he is over at my house right now reading behind my shoulder as i type. Hah teme's too scaredsdflkjsdi0ewkjndk ncs let go of the keyboard temdekdkdfoipej!22ekji3920923kdfnd_

_Urgh i have to go now sakuidfkjdsfj he's invading the keyboardnmdkosdadoijdamsdfs_

_Lovekdsdkj_

_Naruto and sasukejknasdfoij_

She widened her eyes in surprise when her eyes read over the part where he wrote that she was invited to Sasuke's wedding. Was she really invited to his wedding? Somehow, she doubted it a bit.

Sakura sighed as she started to type up several responses to the mails she had received. She briefly wondered if she would be able to go through with the pain if she really did go to Sasuke's wedding. _I'm over him_. She sternly told herself, mentally smacking herself.

_It was just a summer fling._

_._

* * *

_._

The week passed by quickly, much to Sakura's conflicted annoyance and joy. There was only one more week left until schools in Mist officially started, and she had yet to choose a school to attend. On the other hand, her meeting this weekend with her friends drew closer and closer. It had only been a week since she had seen everyone, but after spending almost everyday seeing each other's faces, it felt like an eternity.

Sakura threw aside the pile of papers onto the floor, giving up on choosing a school. Her parents would do something if they wanted her in school so badly. She glanced at the clock and realized that she would have to leave the house soon if she wanted to be on time in meeting her friends. She slipped out of her apartment, locking the door securely behind her as she relished in the feeling of the warmth of the sun on her face. She saddened at the thought that fall was right around the corner, which meant that the summer would officially over.

She ran towards the bus and climbed on, finding a seat at the very back, just the way she wanted it. Oblivious to the rest of the world, she plugged in her earphones and started to listen to her music, lost in her own thoughts as the bus rode on.

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon in Mist, the day of the meeting downtown at a nice little coffee shop that reminded her a bit of the Blooming Lotus. Later that evening, she would have to attend the Akatsuki's annual group shot, and they would be hosting an after party, inviting all of their allies and business partners. She was cheerfully planning Sasori's pink suit in her head when she was interrupted from her thoughts.

"Well look who's here."

Her green eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at the extremely familiar figure that was standing in front of her. "Sai!" She snarled, ripping the earphones out of her ears as she gave him a deathly glare. "You traitor! You sold me out!" She accusingly snapped.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I was never your ally to begin with, Ugly. That makes it impossible for me to be a traitor." He told her calmly, taking the empty seat next to her. She spluttered at his perfect logic. "And I was paid to kidnap you, just doing my job. You can't deny the fact that you have done the same to other people on your missions with the Akatsuki. Calm down, I'm not here to kidnap you today."

She hated it how his words made perfect sense.

"Don't talk to me." She mumbled, not being able to come up with a better response. She crossed her arms and looked out the window, shoving her mp3 player back into her pocket.

"The fact that you haven't put your earphones back in indicates that you are willing to talk to me though." Sai pointed out.

"I just don't feel like listening to music anymore, okay?" She snapped childishly, eyeing him suspiciously. "What's a guy like you doing on a bus during the afternoon anyways? Aren't you supposed to be driving your convertible somewhere?"

"I have been invited to a party this evening and need to get a tux." He explained calmly. "I am expected to socialize with various people tonight, which is something I am not familiar with. I thought it would be a good idea to take public transportation downtown and observe how people interact with each other on a daily basis."

"I feel bad for the poor souls who will be dealing with you at the party." She retorted nastily. She looked outside and let out a yelp as she realized she was about to miss her stop. She jumped out of her seats, shooting him one last glare. "I hope this is the last time I'll ever see you." With those last words, she jumped off the bus, running towards her destination.

Sai just smiled after her.

.

* * *

.

"Sakura-chan, you're late!"

Sakura's big green eyes widened as she spotted a very familiar face once again. This time, her face split into a smile as her friend tackled her down to the floor. "It feels like I haven't seen you in years! Have you been taking care of yourself well? Have you been taking proper care of your meals? What about your health?" He babbled on and on, earning a giggle from the shorter pink haired girl.

"Calm down Kiba, it's only been a week." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes as he sat slumped against a chair at the table. He let out a small chuckle as Sakura finally tried to pry the canine boy off of her. Once Kiba finally let her go, she ran over towards her other ex-roommate and gave him a big hug. "Its nice to see you again, Sakura." He said with a nod.

"It's nice to see you again Sakura." A deep voice said, and Sakura whirled around to face Hyuuga Neji. Kiba and Shikamaru exchanged nervous looks; however, Sakura smiled warmly and gave Neji a warm embrace, leaving him to awkwardly pat her back. He was clearly not used to such friendly gestures.

She suspiciously eyed the two empty seats across from her. "Is anyone else coming?" She asked, looking extremely confused. Kiba suddenly became extremely interested in the napkin on the table, as Neji avoided her eyes. Shikamaru sighed as Sakura's accusing gaze turned straight towards him.

"Well, we invited Sasuke and Naruto-"

"You did WHAT?"

Sakura was disappointed- Shikamaru was clearly not as smart as she thought he was.

"Sakura-chan, it's my fault." Kiba said guiltily, scratching the back of his head. "I invited Naruto, who insisted on bringing Sasuke along as well. I told him he didn't have to come, but he said he was going to come anyways." Sakura sighed in frustration.

"Then I have to give these to you right now." She said, and rapidly fished a couple of envelopes out of her purse. Kiba was about to open his, when she reached out to stop him. "Not in public!" She hissed, looking around at her surroundings. The three boys immediately retracted their hands. "It could be dangerous if these are exposed in public!"

"What are they?" Kiba whispered in a low voice, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"They're invitations to the Akatsuki's annual party." Sakura whispered back. Shikamaru's eyes slightly widened in interest. "Usually we only invite allies and business partners, but this year the Leader said he would make a special exception for close friends." The boys quietly tucked the envelopes into their pockets. "You cannot show _anyone_, alright? If anyone finds out, our party might be ambushed."

"So are there going to be bad guys all around?" Kiba asked curiously, earning a smack in the head by he pink haired girl.

"I need to go buy a tux now... how troublesome." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "But this will be an interesting experience."

"I have some great ones I could lend you!" Kiba butted in, but Shikamaru raised a hand up in front of him to silence the loud boy.

"No Kiba, I will not be borrowing any of your weird shaggy suits. I'll just go buy on my own."

"I'd send Ino to go shopping with you, but she's out on a photoshoot today." Sakura said, looking thoughtful.

"She'd probably make me buy about ten different suits." Shikamaru said, shuddering as he remembered the days in the city of Leaf when he would be forced to go shopping with the platinum blond haired girl. She would drag him all around the mall, occasionally treating him to a good meal if he would refrain himself from complaining. He sighed- was it possible? Did he actually miss those troublesome moments?

"Sakura-chyaaaaaan!"

Everyone whipped around to face the new addition to the group. Sakura almost choked on her drink when she heard the familiar voice cry out her name. If he was here, that meant that...

"Naruto!" Sakura cheerfully exclaimed, plastering a fake smile onto her face as she turned around, preparing herself for the worst. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that he was alone. Dressed in orange and black clothes and matching accessories, the very same Uzumaki Naruto was standing in front of them with a wide smile on his face.

"I can't believe it's been an entire week since I've seen all of you!" Naruto cheerfully exclaimed, exchanging a high five with Kiba, and giving a thumbs up sign to Shikamaru who smirked back lazily in response. The energetic blonde proceeded in giving a startled Neji a powerful pat on the back. "I've missed all of you so much!"

"I'm glad to see the Uchiha isn't with you." Kiba said with a scoff, his eyes narrowing as Naruto took one of the two empty seats.

'Oh, he's just parking the car! Don't worry, he'll be here in a minute." Naruto said with a bright grin, not noticing everyone tense up. Sakura felt her stomach drop. She muttered an excuse about having to go the bathroom and abruptly stood up, her seat loudly scraping across the floor as she ran towards the ladies' room. Naruto shot her a concerned look. "I was just trying to help her." He muttered guiltily, scratching the back of his head.

Less than a minute later, the stoic man approached the table, giving everyone a general nod as a greeting. Kiba grumbled in response, looking extremely unhappy at the Uchiha's sudden presence. Neji and Shikamaru did not bother to answer him. "Naruto-dobe, I told you to wait for me.' He looked around nonchalantly, but Shikamaru did not miss how his eyes lingered on the only empty seat.

Inside the bathroom, Sakura proceeded to splash her face with ice cold water, taking a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. A pair of big apple green eyes stared at her- a short girl with flat, long hair. Sakura had always hated the color of her hair- it was too childish and bright. Sometimes, she wished she had long blond hair like Ino's, or even beautiful dark hair like Hinata's. She could never feel beautiful with this ridiculous shade of pink. She briefly wondered if Sasuke's fiancee had beautiful hair as well.

She shook those thoughts out of her head as anger overwhelmed her. She should not have been thinking of such things- he had quite unceremoniously dumped her on their last day in Leaf, and it was something she would never forgive him for. The thought of the very source of her anger sitting outside, just a couple of meters from where she was standing infuriated her. She gathered her courage and stomped out, ready to face the worst.

Sakura took fast and firm steps towards the table, where everyone else was waiting for her. "Sorry I took so long guys." She said with a smile on her face. Her eyes finally swept over Sasuke's lean form sitting in a chair that had previously been empty. He hadn't changed much- after all, she had only seen him a little more than a week ago. The only difference was that he was no longer in his formal clothing that was required of him as a teacher- this time he as dressed in a casual pair of jeans, accompanied by a loose white v-neck t-shirt.

Her smile immediately turned into a glare as she shot him the nastiest look she could come up with. "So much for spending our last day together." She finally snapped, startling everyone sitting around the table. Her sudden change in mood was extremely frightening. "I guess your schedule was too busy for someone like me on your last night in Leaf." She slammed her hands down onto the table, the firm wood breaking upon impact with her tiny hands. The boys shuddered at the freakish demonstration of strength.

"Tell me," Her angry face slightly faltered. "Why didn't you show up?" She firmly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Were you to busy with your fiancee to spare any time for me?"

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Sasuke snarled. Her momentary fit of rage seemed to break at the sound of his voice, as her eyes widened and she abruptly let go of his wrinkled shirt.

"I'm sorry." She muttered under her breath, and quickly gathered her things. "I... I need to go. I'll see you guys tonight." Several people turned around to stare at her and she left the little coffee shop. The pink haired girl had never felt so vulnerable in her life.

Kiba cursed under his breath, grabbing his jacket as he swiftly stood up. "Shikamaru, I'll see you later! I'm going to go stop her before she does anything stupid in her current state." The brunette boy ran after the furious petite girl, and Shikamaru quietly watched them as they disappeared behind a corner. Shikamaru quietly observed the other boys, before getting up as well.

"I'll see you later, Neji." He quietly said, and nodded towards Naruto and Sasuke. "I just remembered I have some things to take care of." Neji stood up, excusing himself as well as they both exited the coffee shop. Naruto was left to stare at Sasuke with a bewildered face.

"Well that reunion didn't really last," He commented awkwardly, trying to lift the mood with his best friend. It was hard when the latter was glaring at the empty street. "Well I guess you and Sakura-chan still need some time to become friends."

Sasuke didn't answer him.

.

* * *

.

"Damn..." Sakura cursed under her breath, leaning her forehead onto the cool, brick wall. She clenched her fist, trying to reel in her anger. "I lost control back there." She muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. For a moment, she had poured out all of her anger and hurt onto the raven haired boy. She had completely forgotten about the numerous times in which she had tried to convince herself that she was over him, and that she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing she was _weak_.

Because that's was what she really was.

_Weak_ for not being able to contain her emotions.

_Weak_ for not being able to forget about him.

_Weak _for not being able to let go of him.

_Weak for loving him._

__A frustrated cry escaped her lips as she gathered all of her energy into her first, slamming it into the brick wall. The entire wall crumbled within impact, dust swirling around her as she breathed heavily. Several people stopped to stare at her and the debris she had caused. She didn't even bother to look as a familiar figure made his way through the crowd, trying to stop her as she retracted her fist and sent it crashing towards the ground.

"Sakura!" He cried, and tried to grab her fist as she hit the ground once more. He winced as his hand impacted with hers into the deepening crater, but didn't complain as her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh god Kiba," She choked out, her eyes brimming with tears now. "I'm so sorry!" She cried, snapping out of her angry faze as she stressed over the nasty bruise that was forming on the back of his hands. "I didn't realize you were there..." She was about to burst into tears when he forcibly grabbed her hand.

"Take care of yourself!" He snapped, and she let out a cry of pain as he inspected the back of her own hand. It was bruised and battered, slightly bleeding as she clenched it tight once again. "Is this because of Sasuke?" He bluntly asked, staring into her face. The strong Sakura he had learned to love like a sister over the course of two months was finally breaking down in front of him. Her green eyes glimmered with tears until they finally spilled over. She let out a small wail and launched herself into his strong arms, letting out heart-wrenching sobs.

__"What can I do Kiba?" She whispered, shaking like a brittle leaf in his embrace. "What can I do when the man I love doesn't care anymore and is getting married to another woman?"

"What you can do, is lift your chin up and stay strong." The brunette softly said, stroking her pink head. "He isn't worth your time Sakura. You deserve much better." He looked up as a shadow overcame them, to see Shikamaru kneeling down at the other girl's side. He gently held her hand, as they both waited for her to calm down.

Through her tears and pain, Sakura wondered why she had never met such amazing people in her city before.


	15. Pretty in Punk

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_Through her tears and pain, Sakura wondered how she had never met such amazing people in her city before. _

* * *

_._

_._

_._

_._

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**Pretty in Punk**

"_But if you only knew…_

_I was terrified,_

_And would you mind if I sat next to you,_

_And watched you smile."_

_._

_._

_._

"Sakura-chaaaan," Kiba called out, prolonging the last syllable for emphasis. He knocked several times on the door to her bedroom, pausing for a second to look at himself in the mirror. He adjusted the black necktie on his elegant dark brown tux, and made sure that his usually spiked up messy brown hair was now flat and well combed, hanging down his eyes.

"Not yet!" The muffled response came, as another brunette sighed from her couch. His usually strange tied up hair was now straight and sleek, touching his shoulders- all thanks to Sakura's straightening iron. He was almost ashamed to admit that he had freaked out when Sakura had first insisted on straightening out his rebellious hair. Shikamaru felt extremely uncomfortable sitting in her living room in a suit similar to Kiba's.

"Girls always take so long to get ready." He muttered under his breath. He brushed several strands out of his face, not used to having his hair hang down in front of his eyes. "How troublesome." Kiba shot a nervous glance between his friend and the door, and decided to knock one more time.

"Cut me some slack Kiba, it hasn't even been a minute since you last knocked!" The pink haired girl complained. A few seconds later, the two boys heard something crash behind the door. Sakura let out a couple of curses that probably should never leave a woman's mouth, before everything turned quiet again.

Kiba hesitated for a second. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?"

"Will you SHUT UP and let me concentrate?" She yelled. The canine boy flinched, before opening his mouth to speak again.

"Why do you even need to concentrate? You're just getting dressed, that's all." Kiba said. Shikamaru sighed once again, wondering when Kiba's stupidity would stop surprising him.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to do all of this stuff?" Sakura yelled. A couple of seconds later, the door burst open, sending Kiba flying towards the wall. He swore he saw stars swirling in front of him as he rubbed the back of his head, blinking a couple of times until his sight was restored. He looked up to observe the unrecognizable pink haired girl who stood in the doorway.

Sakura looked nervous as she fidgeted in her strapless pale pink dress. The lack of straps showed off her pale, bare shoulders, only decorated by a simple but beautiful small diamond hanging off of the charming silver chain around her neck. Unlike the dress she had previously worn in Konoha, this was one was short, merely reaching her thighs, showing off her long legs which she had acquired from training day after day with her Akatsuki partners. A pretty pink bow in a darker shade of pink was tied at the back, letting the dress hug her figure tightly, showing off her curves.

This time around, her long pink locks were tied into a beautiful an elegant bun at the top of her head, her side-swept bangs slightly hanging over her bright green eyes, emphasized with a small amount of black eyeliner and silver eye shadow. Her eyelashes had obviously been slightly touched with mascara, making them longer and thicker than usual. Her plump lips were a light shade of red, glimmering in the light due to the glittery lip-gloss she had previously applied.

"Sakura-chan, you're so... girly!" Kiba exclaimed in delight, and Shikamaru almost got off the couch and smacked his friend on the head.

"That's not something you say to girls after they've spent a long time getting read!" Shikamaru hissed, praying that his friend had not worsened the pink haired girl's mood. He slightly winced as her eye twitched, a sure sign that she was going to explode any minute now. "You look wonderful, Sakura." He said in a solemn voice, and watched in silent relief as her strained face was immediately replaced by a content smile.

"Thank you Shikamaru, you look quite dashing yourself!" She complimented him back, as Shikamaru shot Kiba an 'I told you so' look. "You look a lot better with your hair down," She commented. "You should do that more often!" He muttered something about it being troublesome, before adjusting his tie one more time.

"Are you ready to go?" Kiba asked cautiously, not wanting to make her angry again. To his relief, she just smiled and nodded.

Girls sure had the strangest mood swings.

Kiba and Shikamaru both helped her gain her balance as she slipped her small feet into a pair of ruby red high heels, making her appear a couple of inches taller than she actually was. The boys slipped on their own shoes as they led her out of the apartment, towards the limousine that had been waiting on the street for a good half an hour now.

"Why are you guys allowed to invite anyone you want this year?" Kiba asked, once the limousine started to move towards their destination. "I mean for such a popular but secretive organization like this Akatsuki, I imagined their guest list to be more... restricted." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Sakura nodded, her eyes glittering in the dark. "Usually the only ones who are invited to this annual party are our business partners and allies, both having sworn their alliance to us. It's very dangerous for these people to break their allegiance to us- the result doesn't usually end well, so they're usually very loyal. This year, they're letting a very select few extra people in. More than trust, it's a matter of knowing we wont be betrayed because people usually know better than that."

There was a moment of silence as both boys took in the weight of the words she had just spoken. "So what do you do at the party?" Kiba curiously asked her.

Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment, before responding. "Well first of all... Itachi, as the official co-leader of the Akatsuki, introduces each and every one of us to the crowd." She explained. "After that, each of us are required to give a short speech, blah, blah, blah. That's the boring part." Kiba groaned at the thought of numerous speeches awaiting him. "Then we start dinner, and after that we start the music and everything. The evening finishes with Itachi making the closing speech. Oh, and of course, you can't forget the part where we take our annual group pictures at the very end."

Kiba's face immediately brightened up at the word 'dinner'. Shikamaru gave her another curious glance. "What about the Leader?" He asked her curiously. The Leader of the Akatsuki was one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the secretive organization- no one had ever seen him in person.

"He never shows up." Sakura said with a chuckle. "If you're hoping to catch a glimpse of him at the party, you're going to be sorely disappointed."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Kiba blurted out. "What kind of leader doesn't go to his own organization's annual party?"

"Yeah, as if he'd reveal his face to any of us." Sakura said, making a face. "No one has ever seen his face before, not even the members. No one knows who he is. Fat chance he'll come bursting into the party, revealing his identity to everyone there. The day that happens will be the day Kisame will let me cook him for dinner." Kiba and Shikamaru exchanged confused looks, not quite aware of who Kisame was. "It's too risky for a person like our Leader to reveal his identity to the public."

"I see." Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I guess that makes a lot of sense."

The limousine slowly came to a stop as the three of them prepared themselves to get out. When the chauffeur opened the door for them, Sakura gracefully exited, followed by Shikamaru and Kiba who both tried to put up a polite and formal composure as they stepped onto the red carpet leading to the huge brass doors. The two boys quietly looked on in awe as they saw a complete different Sakura unveil herself in front of them- the rough, tomboyish girl was gone, replaced by a graceful and elegant lady.

Even as she walked towards the entrance, her movements were slow and lady-like. If she had previously shown difficulties in walking with high heels, there were none now. Her steps were confident and her strides were long, captivating everyone around her. Despite her small stature, her figure looked long and lean.

"Hey, look who's here to join the party!" Deidara exclaimed, approaching the pink haired beauty. "You're here pretty early! We still have about half an hour before the party officially starts." His usually messily half tied hair was now tied into a full high ponytail, his bangs tied back to reveal his sleek and narrow face. Without his usual bangs to cover half of his face, his features looked a lot more masculine than usual.

"I'm here early because I need to give Sasori his suit." Sakura said nonchalantly. "Care to tell me where I can find his lazy ass?"

"He should be in the changing room, waiting for you to bring him his clothes." Deidara suggested with a slight shrug. "If not, try asking Zetsu. It's creepy how he seems to know where everyone is, but I guess that can come in handy in times like these." Sakura giggled at his last statement, before thanking him. She motioned for Shikamaru and Kiba to follow after her as she entered through the big doors. They looked around in awe at the elegance and luxury of their surroundings as they walked through the hallways.

"Sasori?" Sakura asked, knocking on the door that was labeled 'Changing Rooms'. There was a muffled replied, before someone on the other side fumbled with the lock. A couple of seconds later, the door opened with a loud _click_ to reveal the handsome red haired boy standing at the doorway merely dressed in a robe. "I bought you a decent suit this year," She beamed proudly, opening the bag she had been carrying around. She pulled out a large box and slowly opened it, pushing aside the wrappings to reveal a maroon tuxedo. "I thought the color matched your hair."

Sasori gave her a nod of approval, taking out the tuxedo from its box. "At least it's not flowers. Seems like you got it right this year."

"See, I told you that you could trust me!" She exclaimed in satisfaction, giving him a small pat on the back.

"By the way, Itachi was looking for you. He wants to hear your speech to make sure it's okay." Sasori's tone of voice was completely casual, but Shikamaru and Kiba both noticed how her shoulders tensed up at the mere mention of the elder Uchiha's name.

"Fine," She said with a sigh. "Do you mind keeping Kiba and Shikamaru here with you while I go find him? I promise you it won't take long." The red haired boy shrugged, oblivious to their discomfort. She smiled at him in gratitude, before walking out the door to find Itachi. Without realizing it, she quickly ran towards the only possible place he would be in- the main office.

Her hand slightly hesitated as she raised it to knock on the doors- but time was running out, and she would have to hurry if she wanted to make it in time for the grand opening ceremony.

"Come in."

Itachi's voice was deep and commanding as she pushed the door open. She immediately closed them behind her, turning around to face the elegantly dressed Uchiha sitting at his desk with a knowing smirk. His long and silky hair was free from its usual messy ponytail, running down his back to reach his waist. He wore an elegant yet simple tuxedo, accompanied by a ruby tie to match the eerie color of his eyes. "I was expecting you Sakura. Come, take a seat."

She nervously followed his orders, taking a seat on the luxurious velvet seat opposite his desk. She crossed her thin legs and smoothed out her dress, anxiously waiting for him to speak again. "I heard you were looking for me." She said in a meek voice. For some reason, Itachi always had the ability to intimidate her when they were alone. Who wouldn't be intimidated after finding out that he had tried to massacre his entire family?

"Yes, you're just in time." His voice sent a shiver running down her spine. "Let us go over the basic points of your part of the presentation. I hope you remember what parts your speech will be representing." Sakura quickly nodded, quickly trying to clear her head. "You look lovely tonight, Sakura." Itachi interrupted her thoughts, causing her to blush a bright shade of red.

"Thank you. You look good as well." She politely complimented back, with a slight bow.

Itachi picked up a piece of paper and pushed it towards her, so she could read it. "So I see you were in charge of 'Power'."

_Itachi – Introduction_

_Deidara – Organization_

_Sasori – Assignments_

_Zetsu – Accomplishments_

_Kisame – Pros and Cons_

_Hidan – Alliances and Foes_

_Kakuzu – Requirements_

_Sakura – Power_

_Tobi – Members Profiles_

_Itachi – Concluding speech_

"Yes I am." Sakura said, after reading the list over. She briefly wondered how much time he had actually spent on organizing everything.

"You know how important this annual event is, don't you Sakura?" Itachi asked, looking straight into her eyes. "We have some extremely special guests here with us tonight. I'd like for you to collaborate and treat them with hospitality, even though they might have previously been enemies of ours. These are all candidates to become new allies, so you will have to convince them that we are capable of handling whatever mission that is thrown at us."

Sakura's green eyes hardened, as she nodded. "I understand," She said confidently, receiving a smirk of satisfaction. He pushed a scroll towards her direction, motioning for her to open it.

"I need you to sign this." He explained. "It's our member's scroll."

She followed his directions, taking a pen and observing the paper before signing her name on it. Deidara's handwriting was highly recognizable- his signature was more like a graffiti, contrasting against the expensive papyrus. Sasori's cursive signature was elegantly artistic, while Kisame's was stiff and short, contrasting with Tobi's childlike handwriting.

She had been too busy recognizing all of their signatures to notice Itachi get up from his seat, his raven hair flowing behind him as he leaned down behind her. "I-Itachi?" Her breath got stuck in her throat when she felt his muscular chest lean onto her small, bare back. He nuzzled his face into her neck, his lips almost touching her skin.

"You smell good." He whispered, his lips moving against her hot skin. She shivered, unable to push him back. He turned the heavy chair around so she was facing him, earning a small squeak from the girl. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes. "Look at me," He murmured, slightly lifting her chin so that her eyes were finally staring into his intent ones. "Forget about your Sasuke-kun." He leaned forwards, until their foreheads were touching. "Why don't you just stay here with me?"

In one swift motion, he pressed his lips against her own, earning a strangled gasp of surprise from the pink haired girl. She was too concentrated on the pair of lips that was moving against her own in a passionate motion that she failed to notice someone enter the room.

"Uh, Itachi-san." Tobi interrupted them, slightly fidgeting. "Sakura-san hello. I was just here to inform you that our guests have started to arrive." Tobi's expression was impossible to read under his strange wooden mask, but the awkwardness was evident in his tone. Itachi straightened up, looking nonchalant as he adjusted the collar of his shirt.

"Aa," He replied, watching her intently as she smoothed out her dress. "Show our guests into the ballroom and have them seated at their respective tables. I will be joining you shortly." Tobi bowed respectively, before exiting the room. Sakura's cheeks burned- she could almost picture Tobi's smirk. "Sakura, I will see you later." Itachi said, giving her one last seductive smirk. "I expect you to come find me when tonight will be over."

Sakura didn't think it could be possible, but her cheeks turned even hotter as her blush deepened. She couldn't find the right words to say, so she decided to give him a small bow before rushing out the room, slamming the door behind her. The only sound she could hear was the sound of her own heart beating against her chest as she ran down the hallways, finding her way back to Sasori's room.

"I'm back," Sakura said breathlessly, taking a look around the room. Kiba was comfortably laying down on the couch, loudly snoring while Shikamaru sat by his side, looking through a magazine. Sasori was nowhere to be seen. Shikamaru took in her messy appearance and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Do I have something on my face?" She snapped at him.

"Did anything happen?" Shikamaru asked her, looking a bit smug.

"Why do you ask?" She asked, her cheeks still pink. He pointed towards the mirror. She followed his gaze, finally taking in her appearance; her lipstick was slightly smudged, her gloss long gone. Her pinks were a darker shade of pink than what she had imagined, and her hair was slightly sticking out of the neat bun she had tried so hard to make. "Just wait a second." She told him, before quickly fixing her make up and hair. She looked at her reflection one last time, before turning back towards her friend. "Let's go, I think almost all the guests are here now."

It took them approximately ten minutes to wake Kiba up- usually, they could have woken him up much faster, but Sakura didn't have the heart to ruin his neat hair and decent tux with ice cold water. When the canine boy was finally wide awake, she quickly led them out the door, noting that there were a lot more people in the hallways now. Several people stopped to gape at her as she walked by them, as Kiba sent them warning glares if their eyes fell too low on her body. He couldn't blame them though- she really did look amazing tonight.

"Wow," Kiba whispered in awe as she led them to the ballroom. "You guys really take this thing seriously huh." His words were an understatement- the ballroom was weakly put, beautiful. The marble floor was a color of dark midnight blue, sparkling like stars in the sky as the lights glimmered above it. The walls were a shade of elegant black, the crystal windows covered by velvet dark blue curtains. The dance floor was empty, surrounded by numerous round tables decorated with expensive plates and flowers. An orchestra was already playing a beautiful tune up front, and at the very front of the room was a small stage, a podium already set up. Sakura smiled at him as she led them over towards a table, making sure they were comfortably seated before giving them an apologetic smile.

"I'm going to have to sit with the other members throughout the speech, but I promise I'll come join you later." Sakura told them. She headed towards the biggest table at the front of the room, smiling at the other members before taking a seat among them.

"The Akatsuki members..." Kiba whispered to Shikamaru, looking slightly intimidated. "They're all pretty weird and freaky, aren't they? It's so much scarier when they're all seated together, in the same place."

Shikamaru had to quietly agree with his friend as his sharp almond-shaped eyes glanced towards the direction of the nine members seated formally at their own table, the only rectangular one in the entire room.

They really were a strange bunch- Uchiha Itachi was seated in the middle, wearing an expensive looking suit and a confident smirk. His blood red eyes stood out among his dark features, as they scrutinized every single person in the room. Seated at on the very left was Tobi, the member who was rumored to be the second youngest after Sakura. His face was covered by a strange wooden mask, his only distinctive feature being one visible dark eye and the messy black hair that stuck out in all directions. Shikamaru recalled Sakura's brief description of the boy. _"He's very polite_._"_ She had explained to them. _"Unlike some of the other members, he's very carefree and loves his sense of humor. You can tell that's he's one of the youngest members of the Akatsuki. He's still a little kid."_

Next to Tobi sat a man who could only match Sakura's description of a man named Kakuzu. _"He's a man from the city of Takigakure. His main partner is Hidan, and they make a good pair during missions. He's a bit greedy and lives for money, which is why he's our main treasurer. He gets infuriated quite easily, but takes orders from his superiors really well. _He was a dark-skinned, muscular man, taller than everyone in the group except for Kisame. Most of his face was covered by a white hood and black mask, making his eyes the only visible feature of his body- they were an eerie, pupil-less shade of pale green, the contour being a bloodshot color of red. The rest of his body was covered in a suit like every other man in the room, but it was still hard to miss the stitches that covered the rest of his body. Kiba briefly shuddered, wondering how on earth a person could ever survive after getting so many stitches- it was as if he had been ripped apart and sown back together.

Their gaze shifted towards the man sitting next to Kakuzu- his main partner in crime. Hidan was actually quite good looking compared to the other two members they had just seen- his slicked back silver hair was a sharp contrast to his young face, his distinctive purple eyes sticking out among the rest of his pale face. He had strong, masculine features, indicating that he was aged somewhere in his late twenties. _"He's probably the most religious person in the group."_ Sakura had said. _"He takes his religion very seriously... and killing is part of it, which is why he's such a valuable asset to us. He's a natural born cold-blooded killer. He's the only one who can survive Kakuzu's rage, which is why they're partners in the first place. Anyone else would be torn to shreds." _A threatening scythe was draped across his back, a glittering pendant hanging off of his neck to rest on top of his purple tie.

The man sitting next to Hidan was probably the one who stood out the most, even more so than Kisame. His upper body and head was enveloped by strange venus fly-trap extensions, that gave him a plant-like appearance. He had short green hair and yellow eyes, but these were completely normal compared to the rest of his body- he had two different colored halves; while his left side was completely white, his right side was pitch black. _"He has a split personality, just like his skin is split into two colors. We call him Black Zetsu and White Zetsu- he tends to converse with himself. White Zetsu is the polite, well-mannered guy, while Black Zetsu is the crude, vulgar good-for-nothing that I tend to avoid." _Shikamaru and Kiba shuddered at the thought of watching the semi-insane man have a conversation with himself. _"He's our official spy; he has a way of knowing everything. And I mean everything." _

Their gazes turned towards Kisame, a name that came up many times when Sakura talked about her adventures in the Akatsuki. _"Old Fish-chan may look scary but he's a big softy deep inside." _Sakura had giggled _"His main partner is Uchiha Itachi. He's calm and extremely polite most of the time, despite his rough appearance. He's the best swordsman we have; he's very attached to his word- he calls it Samehada." _Shikamaru glanced at the huge threatening sword hanging off his back. The man was huge and muscular, his pale gray (almost blue) skin reminding them very much of a shark. His black beady eyes were looking straight on at the crowd, his blue hair styled upwards into a short mohawk.

A familiar figure was sitting next to Kisame- they had seen this man several times. Deidara looked like he was one of the youngest members as well, his slim and lean figure sharply contrasting with most of the muscular men around him. Sakura had briefly described him as one of her best friends. _"He was my first friend when I entered the Akatsuki. He's usually partnered with Sasori, since they both get along great, 'cause they're both major art freaks. He likes to play around with explosives, making them explode and move at his own will. He can be friendly and humorous when he's around us, but he can be a scary and dangerous opponent as well."_ Shikamaru chuckled as he saw Sakura hit him over the head, scolding him about table mannerisms as he sheepishly apologized.

Next to them, Sasori merely observed quietly with the smallest hint of amusement in his face as Sakura hit Deidara over the head once more for something the blonde had said. His usually wild, short red hair was combed down into a neat hairdo, his brown eyes looking nonchalant as always. _"Don't let appearances fool you. He'] may look like he's one of the youngest but he's actually really old, probably older than Hidan. No one knows how he keeps his appearance the way it is now- a teenage boy. He's a master puppeteer- don't let the title fool you, he's actually one of our most dangerous members." _

Shikamaru and Kiba finally turned to focus their attention on the pink haired girl, who had brought them here tonight. She was positively glowing, as she sat among her unique members at the front of the room. During her absence in the changing room, Sasori had filled them in on a couple of details that they had never known about the petite girl. _"Sakura-san doesn't show it but she's a very respectable fighter." _He had said, while putting on his tie. _"She joined the Akatsuki around three years ago, when she was fourteen, making her the youngest person to ever join. She used to be a bit weak, but she came a long way from those days now. She seems to have inherited a strange inhuman strength from her old mentor. Her biggest specialty is causing an earthquake with a sole kick to the ground. Don't let her small, girly figure fool you, Sakura-san may be one of the most dangerous members in the Akatsuki." _

"Well, they're a force to be reckoned with." Kiba whispered towards Shikamaru, who nodded in response. "I mean, look at them. Have you ever seen so much power ooze from a single group of people?"

Before Shikamaru could answer, the elder Uchiha finally stood, as the entire room turned quiet. All eyes were on the powerful man who held everyone's attention in the palm of his hand. "I would like to thank you all for joining us tonight, for the 6th Akatsuki Annual." He said in a deep, controlling voice. "I would like to also give you a warm welcome." There was a polite round of applause. Sakura took this opportunity to scan through the crowd, seeing many familiar faces she had worked with in the past. She smiled lightly as she spotted Kiba and Shikamaru, the former waving enthusiastically at her while the latter gave her a firm nod. To their confusion, her expression immediately turned sour when she spotted another familiar figure not to far from her friends.

Sai.

He was sitting with two other men, one who looked extremely familiar as well. As she squinted her eyes to look closer, she recognized him as the one man who had kidnapped her during her stay in Konohagakure. His gray hair was distinguishable as always, as he pushed his round spectacles up the crook of his nose and gave her a pleasant smile. Kabuto.

Her gaze curiously shifted towards the third addition to their table- a man who she had never seen before. She had never seen someone with such pale skin before; it was a pallid shade of almost white. His waist-length black hair was straight and silky, his amber eyes looking back at her curiously as he gave her a sinister smile. There as something about him that made her shiver- she immediately turned away from his gaze, looking back at Shikamaru and Kiba who were now shooting her worried glances.

"Tonight we are here to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of this successful organization, formed six years ago." Itachi continued. "Throughout the years, we have lost members- yet we have gained new ones, twice as powerful. I would like to introduce you to the following members- Tobi, Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, Kisame, Sakura, and myself, Itachi." One by one, the members rose to their feet as their names were mentioned.

"Heh, the Akatsuki must be pretty desperate now, accepting little pink haired girls into their organization." Someone in the crowd murmured. Sakura rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore the comment- she was used to it by now. She would prove them wrong later.

The members took a seat again. One by one, they stood up again, each giving their short speech about the Akatsuki. Their words were short but to the point, enough so that Shikamaru was entertained and Kiba wasn't bored. When it was finally Sakura's turn to stand up, her friends held their breath as she cleared her throat. She had never looked smaller, surrounded by a group of powerful men. She was met with another round of polite applause and some crude whistling as well. Her eyes slightly narrowed when someone from the crowd murmured "Now THIS one should be good."

"As one of the members of the Akatsuki, I vouch for our loyalty." She started to say, her voice clear and strong. If she was nervous, she showed no signs of it. "We are trustworthy figures; we are probably capable of fulfilling all missions you assign us with ease and secrecy. We do not betray, we do not backstab."

"But do not underestimate us." Her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of dark green for a moment. There were no traces of the sweet, teenage girl who had been standing there a couple of seconds ago. :We are a powerful organization. You betray us, we betray you ten times harder. You fight us, we fight you ten times more powerfully until you are nothing but dust. You do not want to have us as enemies. You target one of our members, you are declaring war against each and every one of us." She paused for a moment, giving the audience a minute to soak in the weight of her words. "We can also be powerful partners to have. I urge you not to underestimate any of our members, despite our appearances. There is a reason why each one of us have been chosen, and if you still do not believe me, I will not hesitate to give you a demonstration right now."

"She can cause a huge earthquake with a single kick to the ground!" Deidara shouted from the background.

"Now, now, I'm sure Leader prizes this ballroom. We wouldn't want to destroy it and make him angry." Sasori casually commented back.

No one dared to ask her for a demonstration.

.

* * *

.

"You were so cool up there!"

Kiba met her gaze with sparkling brown eyes as she walked back towards her friends. He beamed at her, giving her a high five as she blushed at his sudden display of admiration. "I never saw that side of you, Sakura-chan! You were totally kickass!" Shikamaru agreed to his friend's words with a nod.

"Is it okay for you to dine with us?" Shikamaru asked her curiously. "Aren't you supposed to eat up there with all your members?"

"Nah, we can sit wherever we want to once the speeches are over." Sakura replied, shaking her head. "See? Deidara's already gone to sit with his girlfriends." She pointed towards a table where the blonde was seated, surrounded by beautiful girls fawning over him. "I'll never get what they see in him." She added in an exasperated tone.

She suddenly tensed up as she felt a familiar presence join them. "It's nice to see you again, Ugly."

"Listen up Sai." She said in a warning tone, narrowing her eyes at him. "You better watch your back. I don't know what you're doing here, but as one of the main representatives of the Akatsuki Annual, I have the power to throw you out within a few minutes." He simply smiled at her threat.

"Uchiha Itachi personally requested for my presence here tonight." Sai answered, and paused. "He said h thinks that I could be of great use to the organization." She briefly wondered what the elder Uchiha was planning, before Sai spoke again. "Anyways, I must go enjoy my dinner. I look forward to working with you, Ugly. Try not to stuff too much food down your throat. We wouldn't want you to be ugly AND fat, right?"

Kiba had to restrain the pink haired girl as she let out a ferocious growl, ready to run after the infuriating boy. Kiba shot Shikamaru a helpless look, as if to ask for the genius' assistance in calming the girl down. Shikamaru decided that striking up a conversation would be a good idea."

"So Sakura, where's Ino?"

Shikamaru mentally smacked himself on the head. Out of all the damned subjects he could have chosen he had to pick _that_ one. Her angry face immediately morphed into a coy smirk as she faced her friend.

"She's out in Waterfall for a photoshoot." She answered him, with a grin on her face. "Why, do you miss her already?" He wished there was a way to wipe that smug look off her face.

"No, this is a huge misunderstanding." He tried to defend himself, sweat-dropping as Kiba's smug faced joined hers to taunt him. Shikamaru immediately regretted helping his canine friend. He should have just stayed quiet and let Kiba deal with the enraged female in front of him.

Thankfully, the three of them were immediately distracted when the orchestra started to play a snazzy jazz tune. Kiba and Shikamaru looked towards Deidara in alarm as the blonde immediately jumped up to his feet, his blue eyes sparkling- no, they were _beaming_. He split into a rapid run with a delighted smile on his face, as Sakura loudly groaned. "Save me," She mouthed towards her two friends, who could only stare at her in confusion until it was too late.

"Come on Sakura-chan, let's go dance!" Deidara giddily exclaimed, pulling on her arm. She rolled her eyes at him, wistfully looking down at her untouched food.

"I haven't even eaten yet Deidara, and how many times do I have to tell you?_I don't dance_!" She told him furiously, snatching her arm back from his firm grip.

"Well you have to learn sometime, right? Plus, you used the same excuse last year, I'm not letting you off the hook this time!" Deidara insisted, but the pink haired girl did not budge. His eyes suddenly turned devious- she swore her heart dropped several miles underground. "I'm not letting you even _near_ my hair for the photoshoot if you don't dance with me."

Sakura's jaw dropped open as her green eyes widened. "That's pure blackmail!" She cried in horror, looking absolutely devastated.

"Maybe I should make myself more clear." He said with a smirk, and to her increasing horror, he bowed down ninety degrees and gracefully extended his hand towards her. "May I have this dance?" He didn't budge, even as Sakura vehemently shook her head.

"C'mon Sakura, just grant the poor guy his wish and dance with him." Shikamaru said irritably, shoving her forwards so she stumbled into the blonde's awaiting arms.

"Got you," Deidara murmured into her ear, as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and swung her around to the fast beat. "See, it isn't that hard!" He said with a laugh, as she struggled to keep up with his fast steps with a bright red blush on her face. People stopped to watch, as two beautiful people danced around the ballroom floor.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it!" Sakura exclaimed in delight, a couple of minutes into their dancing, as she now followed his steps gracefully and in rhythm. She let out another tinkling laugh as he spun her around, letting out a delighted gasp as he threw her up into the air and caught her again.

"I told you it wasn't that hard," Deidara said with a smirk. "I'm a natural born dancer, anything you do with me will look graceful, yeah." Their fun was however short lived, with Shikamaru interrupted them with a pat on her shoulder. "Man, wait for your own turn!" Deidara snapped, turning to face the other boy. Sakura was about tell Shikamaru off, when she saw his solemn face staring back at her.

"What's wrong Shikamaru?" She asked worriedly, immediately detaching herself from a disappointed Deidara, who shrugged before going off to find another dance partner. "You look like death." He simply shook his head in response and pushed a phone into her hand. She shot him a questioning look, seeing that there was an active call on the line.

"It's..." He hesitated for a second. "It's Sasuke. He wants to talk to you, and he knows you're here right now. He said he'll come find you if you don't answer the phone right now."

_There's no escape._


	16. In My Arms Again

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_There's no escape._

* * *

_._

_._

_._

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**In My Arms Again**

"_The day when you came down was raining on this town,_

_It was God who was crying,_

_Because he lost an angel like you."_

_._

_._

_._

"Go ahead, Sakura."

Shikamaru's voice pulled her out of her daze as he nudged her gently with his elbow, urging her to answer the phone. She numbly stared at it instead, a million thoughts rushing through her head as her eyes widened at the realization that Sasuke was waiting for her on the other end. She marveled at how the letters on the small screen spelled out the name of the very man who had been plaguing her mind for an entire week now.

She clutched the phone tightly in her hands until her knuckles turned white as she lifted it up to her ear. She didn't saw a word, but her heavy breathing was enough to alert the man on the other line of her presence.

"Sakura?"

She was momentarily surprised at how relieved his voice sounded. She had expected him to be cold, emotionless- however, the relief in his voice was far from both. Her voice got stuck in her throat as she choked on many unanswered questions running through her head. "I'm at the hospital." He rushed, interrupting her out of her thoughts. "I need you to come here as quickly as possible."

"Why?" She blurted out, anger seeping into her voice. "Sasuke, I don't have time for you. Do you have any idea of how important this party is?"

"Your best friend Hyuuga here is in a near-death situation right now." Sasuke snapped. "He got himself into an accident on his motorcycle, and judging by the way he was dressed, he was on his way to your little party. He's in the emergency room at Mist Main Hospital right now Sakura. Do you know how important _that_ is?"

The sound of a phone being dropped onto the marble floor could barely be heard as the music carried on, as oblivious people enjoyed their night as they danced away. Shikamaru and Kiba did not miss the look of pure fear that overcame the pink haired girl's face. They didn't even have a chance to question her before she turned around and rushed out of the ballroom as fast as her uncomfortable heels could take her. The elegant doors swung open and back shut as she disappeared from sight.

Shikamaru could not forget the sole whisper that had escaped her mouth.

_Neji_.

He slowly crouched down and picked up the phone off the floor. When he tried to see if the call was still active, he noticed that the phone had turned off after its impact on the hard ground. "Something bad happened to Neji." He said, his voice hoarse as Kiba scratched the back of his head.

"I'm following her." A voice surprised them both as they turned to face a now completely serious Deidara. All traces of the playful blonde had disappeared now, replaced with deadly concerned look. "I don't know what happened, but I didn't like the look on her face." He rushed out of the same doors at an incredible speed, that had Shikamaru wondering if Deidara had ever been in front of him to begin with.

"She's always getting herself into trouble, isn't she." Sasori joined them with a sigh, as he slipped his arms into a rough leather jacket over his white shirt. "Tell Kisame that Deidara and I went to fetch Sakura, and that we'll be back in an hour. You probably shouldn't follow us right now." Without waiting for an answer, he had disappeared out the doors as well.

"Sakura, wait!"

Deidara grabbed the pink haired girl by her small hand. "Where are you going?" He whirled her around and nearly fell over in surprise as he was confronted with her terrorized face.

"Neji's injured." She whispered, her eyes hazing over. "I have to go make sure he's okay, I have to make sure he pulls through-"

"Here Sakura-chan, let's take a cab. We don't have enough time to call out the limo." He told her calmly, reaching his arm out as and black and yellow vehicle stopped to let them in. Deidara was about the slam the door closed when a hand stopped him. "Sasori-danna!" He exclaimed, as the red head climbed in after him.

"Mist Main Hospital." Sasori ordered the cab driver, who merely nodded in response as he started to drive again. "As fast as possible please." Deidara was about to ask him how he knew so much already, when Sakura started to talk again.

"Neji, he's in a motorcycle accident, he's dying." She whispered, her pain stricken face never leaving her. "Sasuke said he was in a near death situation, he might not make it-"

"Isn't this the guy who cheated on you?" Deidara asked disdainfully.

"He's still my friend!" She defended. It was true, Neji had betrayed her once, and she no longer harbored romantic feelings for him- but it didn't mean that she wasn't going to be his friend anymore. She would not forget how he had smiled at her at the airport, the honesty in his eyes as he told her that he truly wished for them to be friends again. She would never turn her back to her friends in a near death situation. Never.

When the taxi stopped after what felt like hours, Sakura rushed out, wasting no time as Sasori paid the driver. She entered the vast white building, her formal attire contrasting with everything else as she approached the information desk. "Hyuuga... Neji." She panted,not bothering to wipe the sweat rolling down her forehead. The secretary gave her a kind smile, before shifting through a list of patients.

"Emergency room 348." The nurse told her politely. "He's still in surgery, you're probably going to have to wait outside the room-" Her words were lost as Sakura rushed off again, followed by both Deidara and Sasori at her heels.

The nurse had been right- Neji was still in surgery and the farthest Sakura was permitted to go was the door. She took a seat, twisting the soft material of her dress in her hands as her face contorted into something akin to shock and pain. Deidara and Sasori both took seats on either side of her, knowing better than to talk to her when she was so anxious. Deidara nervously checked his watch, reminding himself that if he didn't bring Sakura back in time for the photoshoot, Kisame and Itachi were going to have his head.

To his relief, less than twenty minutes later, the doors burst open, revealing a sweaty but smiling doctor. Sakura's hopes lifted up just a little as she saw his satisfied expression. "Are you relatives of Hyuuga Neji?" He asked, pulling down his mask.

"No, but I'm a close friend." Sakura quickly answered, jumping onto her feet. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's going to be fine." The doctor said with a smile, as Sakura let out a sigh of relief. He paused for a second, looking around the hallway. "Where's the other young fellow?" Sakura looked at him with a confused look on her face. "There was another handsome young man waiting here." The doctor replied with a shrug. "Anyways, Hyuuga Neji will be transferred to another room as his life is no longer in danger. We can't let you visit him right now, but you can come back in a couple of days when he'll be conscious."

Sakura thanked him with a deep bow before the doctor disappeared once again through the doors. "Sorry guys, I guess I panicked for nothing." She said with a sheepish smile, turning towards her friends. "Sasuke made it sound like Neji was surely going to die... I wonder why he didn't just tell Shikamaru or Kiba directly?" Deidara and Sasori exchanged knowing looks. Sometimes, the girl could be a little too dense. She clearly had not realized why Sasuke had asked to specifically talk to her.

"You should go check out the back, just in case." Deidara suggested, giving her friend a little push. "We'll be waiting outside."

"Just in case of _what?_" Sakura asked in disbelief, but her two friends had already left. She sighed, deciding that a breath of fresh air wouldn't be too bad right now, before getting into a vehicle and returning to the party. She let a smile grace her lips as she opened the door to the back, the cool breeze dancing around her. She closed the door, ready to sit down when her eyes caught the dark silhouette of a man leaning against the wall.

She watched in fascination for a minute as he struck up a match to light his cigarette, inhaling as he threw the burnt out match to the ground. He took a deep breath and exhaled again, as the smoke mingled around the clean air under the moonlight.

"That stuff is bad for your lungs." Sakura said quietly, and snatched the cancer stick away from him, throwing it to the dirt floor and crushing it with her expensive shoes. She expected him to straighten up and give her a cold answer- which was why she was surprised when he angrily grabbed her wrist. "Sasuke!" She exclaimed, trying to pull herself away from him but to no avail; her strength seemed to have melted away at the mere sight of him.

"Sakura," He finally whispered. She looked up at him with startled green eyes as she recognized the smell of alcohol on his breath. A wail of pain escaped her lips as he slammed her against the stone cold wall, her back hitting the bricks with a loud sound. She felt his face hover dangerously close to hers, as his onyx eyes hungrily observed every inch of her body.

"Let go of me, Sasuke." She whispered, as his smirk turned wider. He lowered his head down and let his lips barely graze hers in a delicate manner.

"Why should I, Sakura? I'm having so much fun with you right now." She felt his lips move on hers own, just barely enough to send shivers down her spine every time he spoke. She didn't know if the coldness she felt inside her body was due to the cool autumn breeze, or the thick tension in the atmosphere between them.

"Sasuke, don't-"

He pressed his lips a millimeter closer.

"Don't do what?"

She felt his smirk on her lips.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing this because I still love you."

After his bold statement, he promptly crushed his lips against hers.

.

* * *

.

"What's taking her so long!" Deidara complained with a groan, as he paced back and forth in front of the hospital's main entrance. His redhead friend shot him a wary look, without bothering to give him an answer. "Do you think we should go check on her? She might be in trouble."

"She's fine." Sasori finally commented, his patience running thin.

"Itachi's going to kill me if we're late." Deidara nervously said, running a shaky hand through his hair as he glanced as his wristwatch one more time. "And I'm way too young to die. There are too many ladies out there waiting for the great Deidara-sama to make his appearance-"

"Shut up, Deidara." Sasori muttered, extremely irritated. "If you weren't so busy being self-absorbed, you would have noticed that she's coming towards us right now." Deidara whirled around at his partner's words, to see that the pink haired girl had indeed just left the building. He was about to call her over, when he noticed that she wasn't alone.

"Kami-sama, is that who I think it is?" The blonde asked, his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets as he watched the smaller girl panic as a familiar raven haired boy stumbled over his own feet. "What in the name of Kisame is wrong with that boy?" He squinted, making sure that his eyes were not fooling him.

"He looks inebriated." Sasori stated flatly.

Deidara was about to shout out something rude to the younger Uchiha, when Sakura beat him to it. Sasori and Deidara both paled as the tiny little girl shouted something extremely unladylike and lifted him up with one hand, while proceeding to haul him over her shoulder. After showing off a freakish display of strength, she marched over towards her other two friends.

"Hey guys," She greeted, her face slightly flushed. "Can you do me a huge favor? I probably need to get him home before he causes any more damage. I promise it's not far from here." Deidara groaned, rubbing his temples before looking at the passed out Uchiha who was comically hanging off her shoulder.

"Jesus Sakura-chan, this boy is going to be the end of you." Deidara muttered, looking quite irritated. "Fine, just get him in the cab. Make sure he bumps his head extra hard when you push him in."

Deidara immediately regretted his words when Sakura sent him flying across the street.

.

* * *

.

Somewhere in her imagination, Sakura had always fantasized about seeing Uchiha Sasuke's house.

However, bringing him home after he was pissed drunk had never crossed her mind. A strange sensation rushed through her body as she looked up at his residence for the first time- to her surprise, it wasn't an extravagant mansion or a luxurious house as she had always pictured in her head. Instead, it was merely an apartment complex (which looked albeit quite expensive as well). She certainly would have never been able to afford such a place in a lifetime, despite the high salary the Akatsuki provided for her.

She let out a sigh as she fished for his keys in his pockets, making sure she had the right one before unlocking the front door to his apartment on the 20th floor. "Here we are," She muttered under her breath as she set him down on the floor with ease. She turned on the lights, and took a good look at his house for the first time in her life.

It wasn't really what she had expected.

Of course she hadn't really expected a beautifully decorated house either, knowing his complete lack of interest in such things- but she hadn't expected for the house to be this _bare_ either. Only the necessary objects adorned his spacious apartment, leaving lots of free space that simply took out the homely feeling that was supposed to occupy people's homes.

With another sigh, she lifted him up once more, dragging his body towards his bedroom. She did not hesitate as she threw his body onto the spacious king sized bed covered in dark blue sheets, and proceeded to take a seat next to his peacefully sleeping figure. She looked at him closely, realizing that throughout their relationship, not once had she seen him sleep.

And what a marvel it was- it was such a deep contrast to the usual expression he wore when he was with her, or with anyone else. His rough features were smoothed out, leaving his flawless face to look the most relaxed she had ever seen him be. His face was no longer marred by his trademark smirk or glare, leaving a peaceful expression in its wake. She couldn't help herself as she lifted a hand to caress his cheek lightly, wondering how it would be if everything had turned out to be different.

"Sakura, we have to leave right now!"

Deidara's voice woke her up from her thoughts as she shook her head. It wasn't the time to be dwelling on all the 'what ifs'. They were living separate lives now, as two separate beings. Their lives had joined briefly at one point this summer, but that was all they were ever going to be.

A summer fling.

Sakura looked at him one more time- the man she had fallen in love with so suddenly, the man who had flipped her life completely upside down in a matter of short weeks. She gave him a sad smile, before slowly getting up and turning the lights off.

She was ready to let go of him now.

It wasn't until she reached the front door that she realized that she couldn't leave the door to such an expensive apartment unlocked at night- it simply screamed out trouble. Of course it would only be for one night, but she didn't really want to take the risk either. Sasuke wasn't in any condition to wake up and unlock the door from the inside- she would have to take his keys and lock the door from the outside, which also meant that she would have to come back again tomorrow to unlock the door for him when he would actually be conscious.

Oh well, seeing him one more time couldn't hurt.

Could it?

.

* * *

.

By the time the trio made their way back to the ballroom, the pink girl was cheerfully whistling a happy tune to herself as the two men at her side exchanged glances.

"What put her in such a good mood?" Deidara muttered to Sasori, who simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "Women." The blonde whispered with a shake of his head. "I'll never understand them. They'll go from being maniacally depressed to being the happiest person on earth in a matter of minutes. It's almost like seeing a female version of Zetsu." A look of horror overcame his face. "Sasori-danna, do you think Zetsu could be a _girl_?" The red head choked at his words.

Before Sasori could respond to Deidara's frivolous theory, a huge figure threateningly loomed over them as they entered the ballroom once more.

"Where have you three _been_?" Kisame roared furiously. "Do you realize that I have been looking for you for the past _two hours__?" _

"Aw, you were worried!" Sakura shrieked giddily, clinging to his taller form. "I always knew that deep inside your fishy organs, you loved us!"

"Let go of me you little runt." Kisame muttered, prying the pink haired girl away. "Where did you guys run off to?"

"None of your business." Sakura snapped, her mood changing almost immediately. Deidara shot Sasori a knowing glance, mouthing _'women'_. A look of realization overcame the blonde's face, making Kisame and Sasori both sweat- nothing good ever came out of that look.

"Sakura, are you PMSing?" Deidara asked, his eyes wide. Sasori mentally slapped himself, wondering why he had to be stuck with the dumbest member of the Akatsuki all the time. Kisame winced, bracing himself for another war to start flat out on the dancefloor, as the pinkette's face turned extremely red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

However, before she could furiously beat him to a pulp, a pair of muscular arms slid around her waist and lifted her petite form off the ground.

"Excuse me boys, but I believe Sakura owes me a dance." A deep voice she recognized as Itachi's spoke from behind her. Kisame watched in amusement as her face turned terrified at the mere sound of his voice, as she started to helplessly squirm around while mouthing for help to the men in front of her. "I missed you," He whispered darkly into her ear.

"Sorry dude, but you should get to the back of the line. She owes me one first."

Sakura's features relaxed at the familiar voice of one of her closest friends. The group whirled around to look at the courageous man who had been gutsy enough to go against Uchiha Itachi. Inuzuka Kiba stood tall and confident as he flashed them his arrogant trademark grin, revealing sharp canine teeth. "Maybe you'll get your chance later, Uchiha."

Kiba abruptly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Itachi's embrace, leading her to the dancefloor while shooting one last smirk behind his shoulder. He wrapped his own arms around her waist as he led her into a slow dance, prompted by a beautiful waltz tune the orchestra was currently playing.

"I totally owe you one." The pink haired girl said with a sigh of relief. "You saved my life back there. I thought I was gonna freak out!"

"Well then you can start by telling me where you ran off to in such a hurry." Kiba told her with a dashing grin.

"Long story short, Neji was in an accident but he's fine now."

Kiba's eyes widened. "What?" His voice was loud over the music, as several people turned around to stare at the couple. Sakura's cheeks burned pink as she smacked him on his arm, making a shushing sound after giving an apologetic smile to the people around them. "What the hell happened, Sakura-chan?" He hissed, lowering the tone of his voice.

"Neji's fine, that's what's important." She told him with a sigh. Her exasperated look however, turned into one of confusion as he leaned in towards her neck.

Was he... _sniffing_ her?

"Kiba what the _hell_ are you doing?" Sakura furiously asked, her green eyes narrowing into a scowl. He pulled back, cocking his head to the side as he looked... doubtful.

"You smell different." He told her, looking straight into her emerald orbs. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Her heart started to beat faster, as she quickly avoided his stare. It's not like she really wanted to lie to her best friend- but she had a feeling that he probably wasn't going to be very pleased with either her or Sasuke if she told him the whole story right now. Somehow, a waltz in the middle of a luxurious ballroom floor accompanied by a beautiful orchestra did not seem to the be appropriate place to tell him of such things.

_He couldn't possibly know…_

"No, I don't think I left anything out."

_Liar._

"Are you one hundred percent sure?"

_Damnit! _Why did his senses have to be so keen? She felt horrible for lying to her best friend.

"Yes."

_No._

"So nothing that involves you getting into an intense make-out session with Sasuke?"

"Ye-WHAT?"

_How did he-!_

Kiba shook his head, clicking his tongue at her. "I'm disappointed you think so lowly of my smelling skills, Sakura-chan." He said wistfully. "You should learn to not underestimate people. I mean, take me as an example- one of my best friends is a pink haired midget and yet I have no doubt that she might possibly be the strongest person I've ever met." She was too busy feeling guilty to retort to his jab at her height.

"Okay, fine! I'll tell you." She begrudgingly said, slightly embarrassed at being caught in the middle of a lie. Her eyes swept around their surroundings. "But not right now. There are too many people around us right now, and in places like these, rumors travel fast."

"Fine," Kiba finally responded with a cocky grin.

"But I want _all _the details."

.

* * *

.

"Alright Sakura-san, I need you to move up to the front since you're the shortest!"

This man was probably unaware of the fact that he had just signed his death warrant. He looked oblivious at the intense glares he was receiving from the pink haired girl, as he stepped around his camera to adjust the lens a couple of times. Sakura decided to leave the man to his ignorant bliss for now- the killing could come later.

"Midget." Deidara whispered with a delighted cackle as she walked past him, stepping into the center. A pained cry escaped his lips as she made sure to step on his foot extra hard, applying extra pressure as she whispered a playful apology into his ear. The two shortest males- Tobi and Sasori- both looked quite disgruntled as they each stood at her side- both probably weren't too happy with being the shortest men in the organization.

"Look who's talking." Sakura shot back, receiving a scowl in response as the blonde sneaked a peek to the members standing behind him. While Sasori and Tobi were both shorter than him, Deidara was still far from being the tallest member. Itachi and Hidan both stood at a similar height behind him, while Kisame, Zetsu and Kakuzu towered over the entire group with their monstrous heights. She childishly stuck her tongue at him before facing forwards again.

"Please look over here!"

They spent the next couple of minutes being cramped and rigid as the photographer took one picture after the other- Sakura's eyes were starting to water now, and the force of the powerful flash was making her go blind. Save for a couple of pauses in which Sakura would touch up her make up and the boys would adjust their ties, the photoshoot went smoothly without too many fights between Deidara and Tobi.

The members were all getting ready to step down when Sakura stopped them, frantically waving a digital camera in her hand as she ran over to the surprised photographer. "Wait!" She cried, as they all froze in their tracks. "I want a picture on my own camera, so stay right where you are!" She quickly handed the photographer her camera before joining her friends up front again. "And I don't want that formal bullshit- we can all be casual for this shot, it's going to be mine anyways."

The man holding her camera counted up to three as a much weaker flash blinded them once more. The photographer took one look at the result on the small screen and let out a small laugh, before handing the camera back to its owner. The pink haired girl's face broke into a wide smile as she took a look at the picture herself.

Deidara, Sasori, Kisame and Sakura, being the closest foursome of the gang, were cramped together at the center. The pinkette was hugging an extremely irritated Kisame, who was twice her size, while Deidara pulled on her hair, receiving one of her infamous death glares in return. Sasori stood beside his blonde friend with his hands shoved into his pockets, but despite his nonchalant posture he was giving them a small amused smirk of his own.

On the sidelines, Hidan was throwing a friendly arm over Kakuzu's broad shoulders, while his other hand could be clearly seen sneaking onto his partner's money pouch. Kakuzu's facial expression was absolutely priceless- he looked ready to murder the silver haired man next to him. Tobi had climbed onto a stool behind Deidara, making crude gestures which probably should have been censored over the blonde's oblivious head. Deidara was probably going to throw a fit when he saw the picture. Zetsu and Itachi, on the other hand, both looked extremely indifferent as they both stared into the camera.

Sakura giggled, holding the camera tightly to her chest. They were like a family now. Despite all their differences, arguments and fights, they were still family. She had shared her worst and best memories with these people, memories that were going to last a lifetime.

She would always treasure them in her heart.

.

* * *

.

It was morning.

The sun was too bright and the covers too warm, the snores too loud and the bed too crowded.

Wait.

Crowded?

Sakura was jolted awake from her sleep when she felt a foot nudge her leg. She looked around in alarm, only to find herself sandwiched between a quietly sleeping Shikamaru and loudly snoring Kiba. She sighed, remembering how she had invited them to crash at her house on the previous night. With a load groan, she rolled over to her side, crashing into Kiba's chest as she did so. She realized that the over-sized t-shirt she used as pajamas were hiked up to show off too much of her thigh and quickly reached down to cover her skin.

With much effort, she lifted herself off the bed and mustered up as much energy as she could (at least for the moment), as she stumbled into her bathroom. She sleepily looked at herself in the mirror, noting her messy hair and the slightly smudged remnants of her make-up. Sighing once more, she turned on the faucet until the water was ice cold, before proceeding to splash it onto her face in an attempt to wake herself up. She was about to go over to Sasuke's house to open the door for him, when she stopped to look at the shower.

A warm shower sounded extremely inviting right now.

She lost against her temptation as she stepped into the shower, her muscles relaxing as the steaming water washed over her entire body. She made sure to scrub her hair extra hard with lots of shampoo and conditioner (she would need it, after the amount of hair spray she had used to make her hair bun last night), before stepping out of the shower into the fresh, autumn air.

With a content look, she stepped into her room once more, making sure to squeeze all the water out of her hair with a towel. She quickly dressed into a pair of shorts and a loose shirt before writing a brief note for the boys who were peacefully sleeping on her bed. Hoping they would understand, she grabbed her bag and quickly left the house.

.

* * *

.

Shikamaru groaned as he felt the bed shift under him. His muscles were sore from sleeping in such a cramped place all night- he was definitely going to regret it later when he would have to go home and do his chores for his mother. He cracked an eye open, only to be met with brown hair similar to his own.

Kiba.

One bed.

The two of them.

He let out a disgusted gasp as he scrambled out of the bed, graciously falling onto the floor. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?" Shikamaru snapped. While he thought of Kiba as a best friend, sharing a bed at such a close proximity did not make him comfortable at all. Kiba mumbled something in his sleep, but otherwise he did not make a move. Shikamaru took the extra time to look around his room.

Except this wasn't his room.

The color pink. Boy band posters. This was definitely Sakura's room, without a doubt.

But then where was the owner?

Shikamaru grumbled to himself as several strands of his hair fell forward to block his vision- this was precisely why he always kept his hair tied. It was so damn troublesome to see. Looking around for something to tie his hair with, he found a note instead.

_Shikamaru, Kiba-_

_I hate to leave you guys here alone. Not that I think you're helpless, but I don't trust you being around my stuff without me there to yell at you. I have a short errand to run, so I'll be back soon. Just in case you guys have to leave early, I left an extra pair of keys in the living room table so you can lock up behind you. Please, please, please, do not destroy my house. I'll be back before lunchtime. _

-_Sakura_

Shikamaru looked towards the sleeping boy on the bed one more time, before running a hand through his loose hair.

It would probably be lunchtime before he would be able to wake Kiba up anyways.

.

* * *

.

The pink haired girl hesitantly unlocked the door to the big apartment once more as she meekly opened the door. Everything looked so much bigger in the daylight, she quietly thought to herself as she stepped in. She was surprised to find it empty- she had expected to find Sasuke awake and angry in the living room by now.

Under further inspection, she found out that he was waiting for her in the bedroom, arms crossed with a very irritated look on his face. Her eyes slightly widened- it was the first time she had seen him look like this. His usually spiked up hair flatly hung loose over his forehead, casting a shadow over his tired eyes. His shirt was wrinkled from sleeping in it the previous night- she had never seen him look so _messy _before.

And messy had never looked so sexy.

"Are you going to explain to me why I am locked up in my own house?"

Her words died in her throat. "I-I... w-well..." She stammered, trying to think of a way to properly explain it to him.

"I don't have all day."

It was payback time.

Sakura gave him the sweetest smile she could come up with. "So Sasuke, your head is probably aching right now and you probably can't remember much from last night. Am I right?" She asked him with a smug look on her face. His dropped jaw was an indication that she had gotten everything right so far. "And you're probably knowing how the hell I know this." She added.

Sasuke wasn't stupid and it didn't really take a genius to find out that one plus one equaled two.

And two meant a very intimate night with a friend called 'booze'.

He looked absolutely horrified- but she was having too much fun to stop at this point.

"Neji got into an accident last night and you called me over to the hospital." Sakura explained. "By the time I got there, the operation was a success and Neji was perfectly fine. I found you out the back, smoking and drunk." His expression was far too priceless. Sakura almost wished she had brought her digital camera with her again.

But she wasn't done with him yet.

"So anyways, you passed out on me, so I had to haul you over my shoulder and bring you back to your house. You were completely knocked out, and it was way too dangerous for me to leave the door to your house unlocked. So I just took the keys and locked you in, planning on returning this morning to let you free and give you back your keys."

Sasuke simply stared back at her for a couple of seconds, his onyx eyes confused and frustrated. She let out a small yelp as his hand shot out to unexpectedly grab her wrist. She struggled against him, her eyes wide and frightened as she met his gaze.

"Sakura." His voice was low. "Why are you acting like this towards me?"

She was taken aback by his sudden question- was he still drunk? "You're the one who's acting all cold Sasuke." She said with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You were the one who wanted to stay friends." He reminded her, as she flinched at the memory. "You've seen me interact with other people- this is how I usually act with my friends. You can't expect me to act the same as I did when we were together. There's a big difference. You, however, don't usually act like this with other people. This isn't the Sakura I know."

Yep, he was definitely still drunk.

"Yeah well, don't expect me to be all lovey-dovey with you either!" She snapped, pulling her arm away from his grasp. He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his wild hair. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Sakura, you are so..."

"Annoying right?" She finished for him, a look of hurt overcoming her face. He just sighed again. "Well now that I'm finished, I'll leave you alone so you can brood in your own angst. By the way Sasuke, I won't be coming to your wedding. I got your invite from Naruto. Thanks, but no thanks."

"Sakura, it would mean a lot to me if you could come to my wedding." Sasuke said quietly, looking deadly serious. "Even though summer is over, it doesn't mean that our friendship has to be over too. You are still one of my closest friends."

Anyone else would have been elated to receive the term "closest friend" from Uchiha Sasuke. But she wasn't anyone else. She was Haruno Sakura, and "closest friend" was nowhere near enough for her. "I have something else to do." She said with a whisper, avoiding his gaze.

Then, he did the thing that weakened her the most.

He enveloped her into a tight embrace.

"Sakura, I don't want to lose you as a friend."

Everything was spinning out of control- this was not the Sasuke she knew, this wasn't the cold man who liked to act like a bastard- no, this a glimpse of the man she had spent her time with this summer, the man who was warm underneath it all, the man who understood her the most.

"Sasuke, you lost me the moment you left me waiting for you on our last day." She whispered into his ear, as his grip tightened. She pushed him back, forcing a smile onto her face. "I do wish the best for you and your fiancee though." She turned away from him, not wanting him to see her broken expression as she stepped away from him. "I couldn't go even if I wanted to, Sasuke. I'm sorry."

He wanted to call her name, reach out to grab her once again- but before he could do either, she was gone, leaving behind the ghost of a sad smile and her last goodbye.

Maybe, if he had known that this would be the last time he would be seeing her for a long time, he might have tried harder.

But for now, things were as they were, and he did not budge from his bed as the front door to his apartment slammed shut.


	17. I'm With You

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_But for now, things were as they were, and he did not budge from his bed as the front door to his apartment slammed shut._

* * *

_._

_._

_._

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**I'm With You**

"_Won't somebody come take me home,_

_Won't you take me by the hand,_

_Take me somewhere new,"_

_._

_._

_._

A month without seeing him.

Without hearing from him.

Without touching him.

Without _him. _

It was strange really, how her entire summer had revolved around one being.

Life was back to normal now, except it didn't _feel _normal. Kiba, Shikamaru and Neji had all returned to school for a new scholastic year- schools in Mist had started again roughly around three weeks ago, and she still had to find a school that was willing to accept her for at least a semester.

Deidara insisted that she skip her last year of high school, just like he had done (and he insisted that he was much better off this way) and take on her role in the Akatsuki as a full time job, just like the rest of the members had done. That would consist of spending her free days at their headquarters and the rest of her time on missions- but she had refused, telling him that she wanted to complete her education instead of becoming an 'ignorant primitive barbarian' like him.

Three months ago, she wouldn't have cared.

However, three months was enough time to change a person as well.

Kakashi had kept his word and had the main base of his business transferred to Mist, along with Hinata, Tenten and others, much to Naruto's joy. Despite his work overload, he always found time to spend with the shy Hyuuga Heiress who was slowly coming out of her shell. Tenten had surprisingly been enrolled in Neji's same school to finally finish her last year of high school, which she had been putting off for a year. It was rumored that they had become a great pair, mainly due to their common interest in ancient weapons.

Kakashi... well good old Kakashi-sensei spent his free time with Sakura on her lonely days when he wasn't busy at work. He would help her find a school and sometimes they would even talk about how the others were doing- she rarely had the time to fit into the other's busy schedules.

Deidara would visit her every now and then, accompanied by Sasori and Kisame. He had even organized a dinner party for all the members at his own house on the weekend- she shivered as she remembered the last time she had seen Itachi at the Akatsuki Annual. She had never given him that last dance, and she had never bothered to go look for him either.

And now?

The pink haired girl was home once again, all her friends too busy to keep her company. She moped around on her comfortable bed, briefly looking out the window to observe the beautiful weather outside- it was such a shame she was spending it holed up in her house. She looked around her messy room, grimacing at the signs that she had been hibernating in her room for days- dirty plates, ruined magazines, towels everywhere- it was true she was bored, but cleaning was the last thing on her mind right now.

Her green eyes brightened up in delight as she felt her cell phone vibrate somewhere under her pillow. "Human contact!" She exclaimed, diving to grab her phone. She looked to see if it was any of her friends, only to see that it was an unknown number. With a shrug, she flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

"Ugly, it's me."

_Click. _

Sakura looked disappointed as she abruptly hung up. So much for company. She suspiciously eyed her phone as it started to vibrate again.

"Stop being a stalker Sai." She said in a flat voice as she answered the phone once again. "I'm in no mood to play with you right now, so I won't even ask you where you got my number." There was a pause on the other end. She could just imagine the fake smile on his face right now.

"I need you to meet me downtown in half an hour." Sai told her calmly, ignoring everything she had just said.

"Have you been listening to me at all?" Sakura blurted out, highly irritated at the boy. She bit her lip as she thought about it- she had absolutely nothing to do today. She had spent the entire week laying around on her bed, reading magazine after magazine as she waited for something to happen. Last time, Sai had caught her unprepared. If he tried to pull another one of his tricks again, it would probably be the last time. Even a fight with Sai would probably be better than this hell. "Never mind. I'll go, but I'm warning you Sai. If you try to be all smart with me, I will not hesitate to kick you in the nuts."

"Good." His answer was simple and short... and somehow infuriating. Sakura glared at the phone as she slammed it shut again. Within the next minute, she was standing in front of the mirror, triumphantly grinning at her own reflection. "I've find something to do today!" She said in a singsong voice, looking extremely proud. "No more moping around for m!"

Too bad she didn't know how drastic her day was really going to be.

When Sakura finally arrived at their meeting spot, Sai was already waiting for her at the side of the road. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that he looked quite handsome in a casual pair of jeans and a black polo shirt. She gave him a smile in greeting, before remembering who he was. Her smile was immediately replaced with a scowl as she reached him.

"You look a lot less uglier when you smile." Sai told her solemnly, as a vein throbbed on her head. Was that even supposed to be a compliment? She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't have to act so suspicious. I'm only here to ask you out to lunch." He casually told her, as she looked surprised.

"Sai, the next time you want to ask someone to lunch, you should just normally ask for their number. Don't just search it up with one of your fancy spying gears." She carefully explained to him, hoping he got the point. She quickly glanced at her watch. "And who eats lunch at three in the afternoon?"

"I do."

She sighed once again.

"As long as you're paying."

.

* * *

.

"Naruto."

Under normal circumstances, the blonde would have been overjoyed to hear his name being called out by his usually anti-social best friend. However, this time he let out a loud groan, already knowing what was coming. He merely raised an eyebrow from his laid back position on the couch, observing the raven haired boy getting read in front of the mirror.

"What."

If Sasuke noticed Naruto's lack of interest in their conversation, he completely ignored it.

"Did you give Sakura an official invitation?" The Uchiha asked, straightening up his tie as his eyes briefly darted towards Naruto in the reflection of the mirror. Naruto let out an exaggerated sigh, hoping that his friend would finally get the idea.

"Are you deaf or plain stupid?" Naruto asked in disbelief. A vein slightly throbbed in Sasuke's temple- he couldn't believe he was hearing this insult from _Naruto_, of all people. "Sakura-chan isn't coming. She. Isn't. Coming." The blonde emphasized the last part, hoping his friend would get it through his thick skull. Sasuke scowled at his, grabbing his dark blue jacket as he took a seat next to Naruto.

"Well you could have at least given her one." Sasuke snapped, extremely irritated at the way Naruto was treating him. "You never know if she might come last minute. It's been a month after all."

Naruto shook his head with another exasperated sigh. "What kind of man invites his ex girlfriend to his wedding?" He asked, shooting Sasuke a glance. "You're so dense teme. She doesn't want to go to your wedding, whether she's busy or not. She just doesn't want to go, period. Can you please listen to me? Plus it's no use, she's not answering any of my phone calls."

"Call Kakashi." Sasuke ordered, ignoring what Naruto had just said. "Ask him to find out where she is right now and go give her an invitation yourself dobe. She probably won't be able to refuse if it's you."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? Why would I do that? More importantly, why are you so obsessed with Sakura-chan coming to your wedding?"

"Just listen to what I say Naruto, or I'll cancel your monthly share of ramen." Sasuke growled. Naruto's face immediately turned into one of pain- he loved his Sakura-chan like his own sister, but god forgive him, nothing would ever come in between himself and his beloved ramen. He silently cursed the Uchiha for knowing his weak points so well. Without another word, the blonde pulled out his phone with a disgruntled look, as he dialed the familiar number.

"Kakashi-sensei, it's Naruto." He shot his best friend an extremely nasty look. "Yeah, I was wondering if you knew where Sakura-chan is. I can't get a hold of her on her phone." He paused, waiting for an answer. Sasuke's curiosity piped up a bit when Naruto's eyebrow skyrocketed into his hairline. "What the- okay Kakashi-sensei, thanks!" He quickly hung up, staring at Sasuke with a horrified look on his face. "Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan is out on a _date_ with Sai!"

"What?"

"I said, Sakura-chan is out on a-"

"Is she out of her _mind_?" Sasuke snapped, interrupting his best friend mid-sentence. Was the girl completely stupid? Or maybe just insane? Had she forgotten that the last time Sai took her anywhere, she had almost been killed? "Why is that girl always putting herself in these situations?" He said, running a hand through his hair. "I knew that trouble always found her, but it seems to me she's just _screaming _for trouble with bait." He paused, looking at his watch. "My meeting is going to have to wait. Naruto, where did Kakashi say they were?"

"D-downtown." Naruto whimpered.

"We're going downtown Naruto."

.

* * *

.

Sakura's eyes were still narrowed in suspicion as they carried on with lunch.

Sai was definitely up to something. There was no way he had randomly called her out in the middle of the day to invite her out to lunch- it even looked like they were on a _date_. She had only met him a couple of times, but she already knew that he definitely was not the type to do things without a reason. However, he was buying her a delicious meal at the expensive Italian restaurant downtown, and she decided to play along with his little game for now.

"So Sai, do you go to school or anything?" She curiously asked, trying to start up a casual conversation and at the same time, possibly find out something more about the enemy. sitting in front of her. He had been acting completely normal for the past hour, save for his strange fake smiles that never reached his eyes. He could actually be quite charming at times- but that didn't mean she could lower her walls yet.

"I don't attend school." Sai answered her, putting his hands together in front of him. It was quite embarrassing how he stared into her face so blatantly. She could feel her cheeks burn at his intense attention towards her. "Are you going to school Ugly?"

"I'm still looking for a school to accept me." She answered him. "But you probably already know that, don't you?" She added with a smirk, referring to her playful reference towards him as a stalker.

"I only investigated part of your life when I was hired to take you." Sai told her calmly. "I have no idea of what is going through your life right now and I have no intention on spying on you. I was hoping you would reveal parts of your life to me as a friend, on this lunch date."

Did this boy even know what he was saying? How could he say such things with a straight face? Sakura sometimes wondered if the nature of Sai's job had stopped him from developing any social skills at all. He simply did not know how to act around people. "Sai, I'll go to the restroom for a second, okay?" She told him, slightly sweating. He gave her a small nod and she quickly took off, disappearing behind the doors to the female restroom.

Sai wasted no time in reaching towards her phone, which was laying face down on the table. It had been ringing for awhile, but after seeing the name on the screen, Sakura had been blatantly ignoring all of the calls. He quickly flipped it open, reading the most recent message that sat at the top of her inbox.

_hey sakura-chan, i'm downtown and kakashisensei told me you were here as well. where are you? love- naruto_

Sai eyed the message with extreme interest. Now this was going to be fun. He quickly hit the reply button and typed up a response, informing the blonde of their exact location. By the time Sakura came out of the bathroom, her phone was laying face down on her side of the table again, exactly how it had been before.

"So where were we?" She asked politely.

"We were talking about schools." He innocently answered her, his face morphing into another one of his smiles.

Before the pink haired girl even had a chance to answer, a very loud voice interrupted their conversation. "SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakura watched in horror as Naruto burst through the doors of the restaurant, effectively capturing everyone's attention.

"Less than ten seconds." Sai muttered to himself, looking quite impressed. "Not bad."

"Naruto, what the _hell_!" She hissed, grabbing the blonde by the collar. "What are you doing here?" She asked him accusingly,

Naruto actually had the decency to look guilty. "I've been looking for you everywhere," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Thank god you answered my text Sakura-chan, or I would've still been running across the main square screaming out your name!"

"What text?" She asked him confusedly. "I've been ignoring all you messages for the past hour, I never answered any of them!"

"But you sent me a reply a few minutes ago, telling me you were here!" Naruto protested.

"That's not possible, I was in the bathroom a few minutes ago, and I left my phone here..." Her green eyes finally widened in realization as she tuned to face the boy sitting across from her. "...With Sai! It was you!" Naruto quietly let out a sigh of relief, glad that her anger was now directed towards someone else. The black haired boy in front of her shrugged his shoulders.

"I couldn't leave dear Naruto-kun hanging like that, could I?" He replied with a pleasant smile. "He needed something and I gave it to him. Rest assured Ugly, I'm always here to lend to hand." His eyes turned towards the blonde. "And Naruto here isn't the one who needs you right now. His role in all of this is just as a messenger, just as I am. Am I wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto's mouth dropped open. "How... how do you know all of this?" He stammered, his sky blue eyes widening. Sakura's questioning gaze was now going back between both boys. Sai simply sat still, his eyes unwavering as he stared back at the startled man in front of him. Naruto slightly hesitated, before turning towards Sakura. "Sakura-chan... I promise you, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't hoping that everything would turn out well." He weakly confessed, hanging his head. "Sasuke-teme... he's waiting for you in the main square."

Sakura's entire body froze as soon as he spoke those words. The name that she had been trying to avoid for so long had wormed its way into her life again, something she had promised herself to erase. "Is this still about the wedding?" She finally heard herself speak. "I'm not going Naruto, you know I won't." Her protests were weak as she thought of the raven haired man who was not far from here, waiting for her.

"Sakura-chan, he was worried because he heard you were here with this creep!" Naruto exclaimed, shooting a dirty look towards Sai. "He was genuinely worried about you, can't you see?"

"Well our meeting will have to be postponed to another time." She told him firmly, gathering her things as she got up from her seat. "I'll see you some other day, Naruto."

To her mild surprise, Naruto gave her an apologetic grin. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I thought you'd say that, so I told Sasuke where we are. He'll be arriving here any minute now." He turned away from her, wiping a couple of tears away from his face. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan." He muttered tearfully to himself. "But I really can't live without all that ramen Sasuke-teme gives me!"

Ignoring Naruto's moment of brief depression, Sakura gave him the nastiest look she could, before bolting out of the restaurant. Sai stared after her, letting out a sigh as he leaned his chin against his hand. "How boring." Sai commented, his smile immediately fading away as the pink haired girl disappeared from sight. "You scared her away."

Naruto's body turned cold as he looked into Sai's face- his unreadable black eyes chilled his bones. "What did you want with Sakura-chan? Are you working for some weird creep again? I heard about everything you did from Sasuke-teme!" He barked, trying to muster up his courage.

Sai's eyes did not waver. "Maybe I just wanted to have a friendly meeting with her. Or maybe I harbor romantic feelings towards her. Or then again, I might just be carrying out orders again. You will never know, Naruto." His dark face changed when he smiled again. Naruto froze, unable to give him a reply.

The tension between the two men was broken as the door to the restaurant burst open. A few girls around them at the sight of the handsome man who was trying to catch his breath as he supported himself against the wall with one hand. "Where's Sakura, you dobe?" Sasuke panted, ignoring the girls starting to horde around him. "Don't tell me you've lost her again!"

"She ran away."

Sai was either extremely confident in his ability to live, or just extremely stupid. Naruto decided that it was the latter. Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare as he turned to face the intrusion. "She ran away as soon as Naruto mentioned your name. She doesn't want to see you Uchiha, so get out of her life. An engaged man chasing after a young girl like her... have you no shame?" Sai continued, with a smile plastered onto his face.

"She doesn't want you anymore Uchiha, can't you see it?"

Sasuke wanted to tell Sai that he didn't He wanted to tell him that the annoying pink haired girl had penetrated into his mundane life without notice, scrambling everything up and leaving a mess behind. He wanted to tell him that he wanted to treasure her, even if he couldn't do it as the main man in her life. Even if it meant just being her friend.

But he couldn't, because he _could see it. _He could see the way Sakura had changed, how it was useless to stay friends. Who had he been kidding? They would've never been able to remain friends, not with the powerful feelings they shared for one another. Nothing good could come out of it if they decided to stay friends- he would never be able to make her happy, not like this. The only thing he could do now, was to alleviate her pain by staying away from her.

"I wish you both a good day. Try to think about what I told you, Uchiha."

Sai stood up, straightening out his shirt as he paid the bill for their untouched food. With one last smile, he disappeared behind the door as he left the building.

As the door shut with a quiet _click_, Naruto finally saw something he had been waiting to see for a long time.

_Sasuke was finally letting go of Sakura._

The raven haired man's face was no longer marred with worry- no, it was a face of someone who was finally giving up after a grievous journey. Naruto had spent an entire month waiting for his best friend to finally give up on the pink haired, to let her go- but his chest strangely constricted as he finally realized his words were coming true. He realized that he didn't _want_ Sasuke to move on- he didn't want his best friend to go off and marry that other girl, because this was his _best friend._

Despite Sasuke's cold exterior, they had been by each other's sides, thick through thin. Naruto could not remember one time when Sasuke had refused to help him out- even if it was using his subtle ways. Naruto finally realized that he had never seen his best friend happier than he had been this summer- and even though it pained him to admit it, he was not the one who could make the Uchiha happy.

It was Sakura.

"Sasuke-teme, if you hurry up we can still catch up to Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly blurted out, tugging on his friend's sleeve. Sasuke didn't budge at all, his cold, distant eyes looking out towards the window.

"Dobe, it's her choice. If she doesn't want to come, let her be."

"Don't you want to at least try chasing after her?"

"No."

"Teme... if you still love her, go catch up with her right now and just tell her that you do!"

"I will not sink so low."

"You've given up."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the bitterness that laced Naruto's words.

"What the hell are you talking about dobe?"

"Sasuke, you disappoint me. I never thought you would give up so easily."

.

* * *

.

Sakura's feet took her to the only place she knew she could find comfort right now. It wasn't long before she stopped in front of the entrance to a house she had visited numerous times when she was in trouble.

"Sakura-chan!" Deidara exclaimed joyfully, as the door slammed open. His face immediately morphed into concern as she launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly as she buried her face into his chest. He gently patted her head with a sigh, pulling her into the house. "What's wrong, little midget?" She let out a choked laugh through her tears and raised her head to look at him with shining emerald eyes.

"Sasuke..."

Deidara's eyes narrowed dangerously as the Uchiha's name left her lips. He was sick and tired at how the Uchiha could make her cry so easily. He opened his mouth, ready to retort something extremely vulgar, when she exploded into a rage.

"How dare he insist that I come to his wedding!" She roared, her eyes turning fiery now. "He knows how much I care for him! How dare he be so selfish and ask me to go watch him marry another woman! I wish I could see his reaction if I did the same to him!" She angrily pounded her tiny little fists against his chest. He winced several times, trying to act nonchalant as he patted her on the back several times.

"You should just get married to me." He told her playfully. "Then you can invite him to our wedding."

They both froze as the door to Deidara's house slammed open once again.

"I brought you the candy you asked me to buy, you annoying Barbie." Sasori said irritably, holding up a huge bag full of a colorful assortments of sweets. The blue skinned man behind him let out a loud guffaw at Sasori's new nickname for the blonde who was currently looking extremely furious. They looked momentarily confused at the scene before them.

Then, chaos broke out.

"Sakura, are you in a relationship with Deidara?" Sasori asked in a deadpanned voice, as Kisame started to freak out behind him. Sakura and Deidara both finally realized how compromising their position looked, and both immediately jumped back as they blushed an intense shade of red. "I know this is none of my business, but-"

"SAKURA WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? DEIDARA?" Kisame hollered, yanking the pink haired girl away from the said man. "I knew your taste in men was terrible, but I didn't realize the full extent of it! Oh kami-sama forgive me, I have done a terrible job of raising Sakura..." He looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"It's not like that-" Deidara tried to explain frantically, but was stopped when Kisame's huge fist punched him into the wall.

"Keep your dirty hands off of her!" Kisame roared, looking absolutely furious. He quickly faced Sakura, solemnly grabbing her by the shoulders. "Sakura, I know we always have our ups and downs, but I want you to know that you are like a little sister to me, which is why I will absolutely NEVER agree to your relationship with Deidara!"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes watered up as she burst into laughter, hysterically rolling around the floor.

"You guys think I'm dating Deidara?" She asked, wiping the mirthful tears from her eyes. "Oh wow, this is possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life." She burst into laughter once again, at their bewildered looks. "This is all a huge misunderstanding," She added, looking absolutely delighted. "But don't worry Fish-chan, I really appreciate your little speech."

If there was a way for Kisame to blush, he probably would have been tomato red by now.

"You could have stopped me sooner!" He furiously snapped at her, clearly not amused by the whole situation.

"Oh don't worry." Sakura said with a smug smile on her face. "I think of you as a little sister!" She mimicked in a deep voice, before laughing once again. Kisame still looked quite disgruntled- but when Deidara flashed him a thumbs up sign, he felt a little bit better about embarrassing himself in front of the pink haired girl.

"I'll get back at you one day," Kisame muttered, averting his eyes away from the smiling girl.

"And one day, I'll hunt you down and eat you." She replied with a giggle, the tears finally ceasing. She rubbed away the last remains of the wet trails on her cheeks, as she turned around to beam at the three men behind her.

She decided that, even though things with Sasuke would crumble apart, she would always be happy as long as her best friends would stay at her side.

.

* * *

.

"Have you accomplished your mission, Sai-kun?"

"I apologize, Orochimaru-sama. I'm afraid I have failed."

"I am disappointed, Sai-kun. I must insist that you do not come see me before you have fully accomplished the mission I have assigned to you."

His voice was piercing, ice cold.

"Orochimaru-sama, I must retire myself from this mission."

"Is it because of the girl?"

"I have my own reasons."

"I see. I guess we will have to contact Itachi-kun now. You may be dismissed, Sai."


	18. Goodbye My Lover

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

**Goodbye My Lover**

_"Goodbye my lover,_

_Goodbye my friend,_

_You have been the one,_

_You have been the one for me."_

_._

_._

_._

His wedding day was drawing near.

A normal man would have been overjoyed, marrying a wealthy and beautiful girl such as Ayame. She was indeed an attractive woman of power- men would turn their heads on the street to gawk at her long, silky brown hair and honey colored eyes. Sasuke, however, couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed at her sole presence.

She didn't have pink hair.

She didn't have emerald eyes.

She didn't have that same dazzling smile.

And her name wasn't Haruno Sakura.

It was disturbing how his stomach fluttered every time he closed his eyes and imagined Sakura instead. His chest would strangely swell up and he would find himself unable to think properly.

When he remembered that he was going to be marrying Ayame instead, that feeling would disappear and his stomach would feel heavy all over again.

It was like a never ending nightmare.

Prior to his brief stay in Konohagakure, Sasuke had given up to his unchangeable future. He had never thought of running away from his arranged marriage, despite the fact that Ayame seemed to know how to annoy him in all the wrong ways. He would carry the weight of his family's name, no matter what the cost was.

After meeting Sakura, he finally realized that the only reason he had previously given up to his fate, was because he had never experienced anything close to love before. His experience with the pink haired girl had given him a whole new perspective on life- one he could no longer ignore.

He wanted to reach out to her- see her again, touch her again...

Whatever had happened to his whole 'summer fling' speech?

Then he remembered it had disappeared along with his heart when Sakura had left his life.

.

* * *

.

"Sakura-chaaaaan, today is the big day! Rise and shine!"

Sakura wondered why Kiba would never understand that she wasn't a morning person. She briefly considered punching him through the wall, before deciding against it. It was her house after all, and now that winter was right around the corner, she didn't really look forward to spending freezing nights with a hole in her wall. She sighed, wistfully reminiscing about her quiet mornings when her house was actually empty.

"Do you want me to murder you, Inuzuka Kiba?" She dangerously growled into her pillow, shielding her eyes as Kiba almost ripped the curtains open. Kiba shot her a sheepish grin as he turned around to face his pink haired friend.

"Come on Sakura, we have to start getting ready!" Kiba exclaimed, trying to lighten up her mood. "It's Sasuke's wedding day, and we have to go show him what a kickass girl you are!"

"Oh whoopee, I'm ecstatic." Sakura said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. "I told you I'm not going."

She had momentarily forgotten that Inuzuka Kiba could be more stubborn that herself when he wanted to be.

"Sakura-chan, you're coming with me." He told her, while shaking his head. "Please?" He looked at her with irresistible puppy dog eyes that she could usually never deny. However, her will right now was much stronger than the expression on his face, and he went sent flying against her dresser.

"I know this is going to sound like an excuse, but I really have something to do today." She told him, giving him a reproachful look as she fished two envelopes out of her desk. "This is for you and Shikamaru, and I forbid you to open them before tonight." Her eyes narrowed. "Unless you want me to kick you into the cement ground." He shuddered, thinking that he didn't want to risk his own life for the sake of one letter.

He looked towards the suitcase lying on her floor. "What's the suitcase for?" He asked suspiciously.

"Akatsuki mission," She briefly answered, waving a hand in the air. "I'm going to be away for the weekend. It's going to be my first proper mission in awhile, and I need the money. I _told _you I wouldn't have the time to go to the dumb wedding."

"You'll be back on Monday then?" Kiba asked her, quickly stuffing the envelopes into his pockets.

"Yeah, Monday morning. If everything goes well, I'll buy you and Shikamaru dinner, so keep Monday evening free, alright?" She giggled as he loudly cheered. "It's nothing dangerous so it should be fine."

She grabbed a couple more things and shoved them into her suitcase. "How are you going to close that? And do you really need all that stuff for a weekend?" Kiba asked in disbelief, his eyes widening as he looked at the immense amount of luggage sitting in the bag. She shrugged her shoulders and effortlessly closed the bulging suitcase with ease, thanks to her strength.

"Girls need a lot of things on trips." She told him, and put her hands on her hips as she faced him. "Kiba, you better not forget and give that letter to Shikamaru! It has instructions on how to take care of my house while I'm away. I'm going to be angry if I find out you ignoring my letters!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't get your panties in a bunch."

"Alright, time's up dog-boy," Sakura said, starting to push her friend out the door. "My plane is leaving in three hours, so I need to start getting ready. Thanks for waking me up Kiba, but I really need to prepare myself now. Don't forget to read the letter with Shikamaru later and make sure not to do anything stupid while I'm gone!"

He gave her a surprised look when she gave him a brief peck on the cheek, before pushing him out of her house.

He didn't see her tears as the door slammed shut behind him.

.

* * *

.

"I'm busy enough as it is with the wedding." Shikamaru said irritably, as Kiba burst into his room. "Can't it wait?"

"Sakura-chan left us a weird letter and she told me to open it tonight but I couldn't stand it so I quickly came over to read it with you." Kiba blurted out quickly. Shikamaru blinked a couple of times as his brain processed all of the information that had just been given to him.

"Point taken." Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "Troublesome girl... well hurry up and open them, won't you?"

"Read your own letter!" Kiba snapped, throwing it at the lazy genius. "I have my own letter to read!"

"Read yours out loud, and then just read me mine." Shikamaru said, closing his eyes as he leaned back on his bed. "I have to start getting ready for the wedding."

"You're not even doing anything!" Kiba barked, looking extremely annoyed.

"Or maybe you're just scared because you _don't _know how to reaf after all." Shikamaru told him with a smirk. Kiba loudly growled and ripped his letter open, determined to prove his friend wrong. Shikamaru loved how Kiba was so easy to manipulate at times.

"Dear Kiba." The canine boy started to read out loud, carefully pronouncing each word.

_Dear Kiba._

_It'll be too late by the time you open this letter. I want to apologize for lying to you, I promise I never meant to. But right now, this is the best I can do. I promise to grow into a better person some day. _

_I'm leaving. _

_You might be wondering if it's because of Sasuke- and I really can't deny that he is partially to blame. But I promise you that he isn't the only reason. If he was the only reason, I wouldn't be leaving._

_No schools in Mist are going to accept me, and Itachi has organized for the Leader to send me to the city of Waterfall to start over new. I'm going to drop out of the Akatsuki- for now, at least. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye properly to Deidara, Sasori and Kisame either- they're going to be so angry, but I just didn't have enough time. I'm going to finish my last year of high school here, and depending on how things go, I might stay to continue my studies or I might come back. Who knows what the future holds in store? _

_Take care dog-boy, and give Akamaru a treat from me, will you? I trust you and Shikamaru with my apartment, as long as you don't sell it or trash it. I've taken care of the rent and everything, so don't worry about it. _

_I'll miss you very much, Kiba. You are one of the greatest people I've ever met, and I want you to know that I will definitely be back one day. _

_Love always,_

_-Sakura_

A deathly silence filled the room as Shikamaru and Kiba both simply stared at each other, both too dumbfounded to speak.

"Your joke isn't funny Kiba." Shikamaru said, after a long pause. "I'll admit that your stupid jokes can sometimes be funny, but this one is horrible.'

Kiba's voice shook as he spoke again. "It's not a joke... there must be something wrong. I bet she wrote this letter to scare me and then wrote 'just kidding!' in yours." He quickly ripped Shikamaru's letter open as well. His eyes quickly scanned over the letter, reading its contents. "It's not a joke." He repeated in a whisper.

Shikamaru grabbed the letter from his hands, his eyes quickly going back and forth as his eyes scanned over her words. His hands tightly clutched the piece of paper in his hands, glaring at the words with intense anger. Kiba had never seen Shikamaru display so much anger before. "Kiba... we have to go to Sasuke's wedding right now."

Kiba gave him a bewildered look. "Aren't we going to stop Sakura?"

"If someone's going to stop her, it's not going to be us." Shikamaru told him firmly, grabbing his brown jacket as he made his way to the door. "It has to be the person who started all of this. We have to go tell her friends at the Akatsuki first, and then we have to go find the Uchiha."

"But we're never going to be able to stop her in time then!" Kiba exclaimed in frustration.

"As much as I hate to admit it Kiba, we can't do this on our own."

.

* * *

.

"You're lying." Deidara accused the two boys, disbelief written all over his face. "That's not like Sakura-chan at all... she would never leave without telling us." He crossed his arms, shooting them a suspicious look. Kisame and Sasori hovered at his side, both quietly listening in on the conversation.

"We have no reason to lie to you." Shikamaru said firmly. Kiba was slightly taken aback at seeing this new side of Shikamaru's personality. He was no longer the lazy genius he had grown accustomed to seeing. "We have to go to the Uchiha's wedding right now. We have no time to waste."

Deidara's eyes further narrowed. "If you were really telling the truth, why would we go tell the bastard?" Deidara hissed, as Kisame bared his sharp teeth. "He's the one who's to blame in the first place."

"It may be that way." Shikamaru said with a solemn nod. "But he wouldn't be the only one to blame. One of your own members helped her move, and it seems to me that he didn't even bother to tell you about it."

"So what if I did?"

"Itachi!" Kisame growled, as the group whirled around to face the older Uchiha. "Is there an explanation for any of this?"

"What is there to explain?" Itachi drawled. "There's nothing to explain, my tear friends. She needed to find a new school, so I helped her find one. In order for her to complete her education, giving up on Mist and the Akatsuki was a necessary thing to do."

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Deidara exclaimed, looking absolutely furious.

"You bastard!" Kiba shouted, and swung his fist towards the Uchiha's face. Itachi did not even blink as he raised a hand to capture Kiba's fist. He slowly pushed the smaller boy backwards until his back hit the wall. Kiba couldn't help but shudder as Itachi's blood red eyes maniacally widened to stare into his own.

"It was her choice." Itachi coldly replied, and finally let go of him. "Shouldn't you all be going? If I'm not mistaken, you have a certain wedding to go ruin." The others nodded at each other before rushing out of the headquarters. Itachi simply stood by and watched them exit one by one, until Shikamaru was the only one left.

"You should really stop helping us, Itachi-san." Shikamaru said with a smirk. Itachi's eyebrow rose up at his statement. "I know you're the one who hired Orochimaru's spies to try to reunite Sasuke and Sakura. It's a shame the plan didn't work out well." The raven haired didn't answer for a moment, before finally letting out a sigh.

"My foolish little brother... he still has a long way to go." His voice was quiet. "He does not have the right to call himself an Uchiha if he is going to give up so easily."

"And murdering your whole family gives you the right?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"That is something that is not ready to be revealed to the world yet." Itachi answered him. "Foolish little brother will maybe stop hating me when he will understand one day." He paused for a moment. "Sakura is a precious person to him. I helped her move because she is suffering, and my brother has to understand how big of a loss she will be to him."

And that was when Shikamaru realized that Itachi would tell him no more.

"Thank you, Itachi-san."

"Anytime."

.

* * *

.

When Kiba ran into the church screaming like a wild banshee, Shikamaru almost wished he had a camera in his hands.

The reactions?

_Hilarious._

Shikamaru would've started rolling on the floor laughing if the situation hadn't been so serious.

Being Uchiha Sasuke's wedding, all the people attending were extremely high-profile. They were probably all rich, high class people, who were expecting the perfect romantic wedding. Their usually prim and proper faces all morphed into expressions of shock at the hysterical brunette who ran down the aisle, towards the future bride and groom.

It was supposed to be a big day for him- but not even all the professional make-up applied on his face was enough to disguise the black circles under his eyes. He looked extremely tired and sleep-deprived, and his usually pallid skin was now sickly pale. Shikamaru amused himself by thinking that even the handsome Uchiha could sometimes look sick. He briefly wondered if his evident stress was due to the lack of a certain pink haired girl in his life.

The woman standing at Sasuke's side was actually not all that hideous- but compared to Sakura, she was so _dull_. She was just a typical pretty face, nothing more. Her glare, however, could rival Sasuke's as she avidly gawked at the intruders who had just interrupted her wedding.

She grit her teeth in anger- she had been so damn close to marrying _the _Uchiha Sasuke.

Shikamaru uncomfortably cleared his throat, as Deidara and Kiba both fidgeted at his side. Several people flinched as Kisame bared his teeth, showing off a set of threatening sharp teeth. Sasori never dropped his cool and calm composure, but the slight twitch of his eyebrow indicated that he was quite anxious as well.

"Er- we need to stop this wedding." Shikamaru awkwardly said, when none of the men next to him spoke. "On behalf of Sakura."

"And what reasons would you have to do that?" Sasuke coldly asked them, now facing them as he showed off his expensive black tuxedo. A elderly man who held several resemblances to both Sasuke and Itachi was sitting in a wheelchair in front of his son, looking at the newcomers with slight interest. "Shikamaru, I hope Sakura has a _ver__y_ good reason for interrupting my wedding like this, especially when she insisted so hard on not coming herself." Sasuke growled, looking highly displeased.

"What else would you expect?" Shikamaru glared back even harder, surprising Sasuke and the rest of the people who knew him. Shikamaru had rarely displayed such fury before. Even Kiba was staring at him with admiring eyes now. "She's a strong girl, yes. But no one is strong enough to watch the man they love get married to another woman."

A look of pain immediately overcame Sasuke's face- but it was gone as fast as it had appeared. He masked it with an angry look, but he wasn't fast enough to fool the Nara genius. Uchiha Fugaku seemed to have noticed this as well.

"It's not my fault she has a hard time getting over me." Sasuke said coldly, indifferently.

"You're not over it either!" Kiba finally blurted out, joining their heated conversation. "Shut up Sasuke, don't interrupt me!" Kiba growled as the Uchiha opened his mouth to protest. "I can tell you're still not over her! I'm a proud member of the Inuzuka clan, and we-"

"You have extremely heightened senses."

A deep voice spoke up.

All the whispers quieted down as the powerful man turned his wheelchair around to properly look at the group of young men standing at the back of the church. Kiba's eyes widened in shock, but the old man kindly smiled back. He looked a lot like a mixture of Itachi and Sasuke- he had their same handsome features, only slightly altered by the signs of a long life. His posture, however, held much more dignity and power than both the younger Uchiha's combined.

"Please go on." He nodded, towards the younger Inuzuka, who looked bewildered at the man's sudden involvement. Kiba swallowed, and faced Sasuke once again, slightly more encouraged by Fugaku's intervention.

"We can sense emotions on people." Kiba stated, earning a couple of curious murmurs from the crowd. "I know it sounds ridiculous," He hastily added. "But it's true. We can smell it when someone is happy or sad, angry or... in love."

Sasuke's eyes widened at his last statement.

"You are still in love, Uchiha Sasuke, and it's certainly not with the girl you're standing next to."

The girl standing next to Sasuke scowled, and let out an exaggerated gasp. She opened her mouth to give him a nasty retort, when another voice spoke up.

"Sakura-chan..." Deidara finally spoke up, his gaze determined. "She's a sweet girl. The first time she joined the Akatsuki years ago, she was so lost... I wanted to always protect her. I always wanted to remain by her side." His expression softened. "I always wanted to remain at her side as a man, not just a friend." Kiba stared at the blonde in surprise, while Shikamaru remained impassive at his confession. "But I don't make her happy as a man. I can only stand by her side and help her... and then you come along and just sweep her off her feet, just to dump her again." He tone was angry and aggressive now. "You should go catch her before I smash your face in right here, right now."

"That's enough Deidara." Sasori stepped up, gently putting a hand on his partner's shoulder. "You must understand Uchiha-san, that Sakura is very dear to us. We always vowed to hurt whoever hurt her."

He paused for a second.

"But I can't hurt the person she loves the most."

Sasuke's onyx eyes widened in realization as Sasori's words sank into his head. Th Uchiha slowly took a step forward. He started to take a couple of more steps, when Ayame threw herself at his back, wrapping her arms around his slim waist. It seemed to wake him up out of his daze. "No, I have a contract to fulfill." Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I am going to get married to Ayame-san. Please do not ruin this important day for us." His voice was strained, as he turned away from them. The girl triumphantly grinned at them from behind his back.

"You're a fucking idiot if you don't chase after her."

Several people gasped at Kisame's crude language, but the blue skinned man just ignored it all. "Mark my words, Uchiha Sasuke. If you let go of this chance right now, you will regret it in the future."

"You guys have no right to come barging into my wedding and tell me what to do!" Sasuke furiously burst out, and coldly turned his back to them once again. "If Sakura really wanted to say something, she could come here herself instead of sending you."

"She would be here if she wasn't leaving the city." Shikamaru finally told him. A hint of panic flashed through the Uchiha's eyes.

"When?"

"She's headed towards the airports right now." Kiba quickly said. "Every minute wasted in here is a step farther away from her."

Sasuke cursed under his breath, as he loosened his tie. Mumbling a short apology to Ayame, he stumbled off the altar, bowing deeply to his father before straightening up again. "I apologize Father, but I cannot go through with this." Ayame looked absolutely crestfallen, as Fugaku gave Sasuke an approving nod.

"I am proud of you, Sasuke. You are indeed my son."

Sasuke's face broke out into a sincere smile for the first day in ages, charming everyone in the room. "Thank you Father."

"Sasuke-kun, where are you going? We have to get married!" Ayame shrieked, latching herself onto his arm. "Don't leave me here Sasuke-kun!" He roughly pushed her away, before making his way towards his friends.

"I hope you have something prepared for me." Sasuke solemnly told Shikamaru, who nodded in response. "We're going to have to be quick, but we can probably make it in time." Deidara, Sasori and Kisame quickly ran out, as Kiba and Shikamaru followed suit. Sasuke was about to follow, when he briefly paused to face his best friend. Naruto looked at him with a proud look on his face, as he flashed him a thumbs up sign.

"I told you so, teme."

Sasuke gave him one last winning smirk before disappearing behind the doors.

.

* * *

.

His heart was pouding, his ears blocking out every other sound. His eyes darting around from side to side, desperately searching for a familiar shade of pink among the busy crowd.

Would things have turned out to be completely different if he hadn't denied his feelings for her? Would they be back in the city, enjoying each other's company? Would they both be happy opposite to the misery they were feeling right now?

He was losing her.

Would he make it in time?

Was it too late?

His heart dropped as he looked he looked up search for the flight to Waterfall.

_Departed._

__He was far too late.


	19. Accidentally In Love

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

* * *

_She was born to create trouble, thus, landing her in that dump of a summer school which would turn out to be the place with the best memories of her life._

* * *

_He was too late._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**Accidentally In Love**

"_We were once upon a time in love."_

_._

_._

_._

Sasuke simply stood there for a moment, unable to move.

She had…_left_.

Just like that. In a mere matter of minutes she had left.

"Sir... is your name Uchiha Sasuke?"

His heartbeat quickened as someone tapped his shoulder. He immediately whirled around, startling the poor woman who had called out to him. He was disappointed to see a dull shade of blond hair instead of the pink he had expected. Judging by her uniform, this woman was a worker here at the airport. He simply nodded in response, his voice caught in his throat. "A certain pretty young lady asked me to give you this in case you came." She said slowly, slightly blushing as she handed him an envelope. "She showed me a picture of you, but I must say that the picture doesn't do you much justice." Her blush spread across her face.

He ignored her blatant attempts at courting him, and merely snatched the piece of paper away from her. His heart started to pound against his ribcage as he slowly opened the envelope, pulling out the letter within.

_Dear Sasuke. _

_If by any chance you really did come by to look for me, I have decided to leave you a final letter._

_If you're reading this letter right now, that means I'm probably on the plane to Waterfall right about now. I am going to be starting a new life, full of new people and new experiences. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about Mist- my friends, my home... but I believe it's time for me to start over now. _

_I'm going to attend my last year of high school here in Waterfull, and I'm planning to go to university to study for my dream- I might have mentioned this to you before, but I've always wanted to become a medic. So I'm dropping everything here- even the Akatsuki, to go pursue my dreams. _

_That means I probably won't be coming back for a long time. And I sincerely do wish the best to you and Ayame-san. I realized that the more I got jealous, the more useless it was. If you are happy, then I will attempt to find my happiness as well. _

_I want to thank you for those two months we spent together during the summer. They were undoubtedly the best times of my life, and I honestly wish it could have lasted longer... but all good things must come to an end, right? _

_I sincerely thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I still love you, Sasuke. I think a part of me always will. _

_-Sakura_

He wanted to scream out in frustration- he wanted to rip the letter to shreds, go back in time to stop her, to cry his eyes out, _anything_ to stop this pain-

He wanted her to be by his side right now so he could hold her tight and tell her that he loved her, that he was sorry for all the times he had hurt her, that he didn't mean any of it-

But for now, all he could do was numbly walk out.

For the first time since he had been a mere child, he felt his eyes burn and a lump rise up in his throat. He had to bite his lips to stop them from trembling, as he walked out into the sunlight. He shakily stepped out into the street... and then the realization hit him.

Sakura was _gone._

"Where is she?" Kiba shouted accusingly, as Sasuke joined the group of men that were anxiously waiting for him. A couple of others had joined them now, as he spotted several familiar faces- Neji, Tenten, Ino, Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi- when had they all arrived? They were all about to bombard him with questions, when Shikamaru raised a hand to silence them all.

"She's gone." Sasuke answered in a hollow voice. "She left."

Kiba looked like he had been hit by a truck. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he grabbed the Uchiha by the collar. "Stop kidding!" He roared furiously, shaking the boy back and forth. "This isn't the time to be joking! Now tell me where the hell Sakura-chan is!" The Uchiha remained silent, too drained to say anything.

"No." Deidara whispered, and Kisame and Sasori had to support him as his shaky knees gave out beneath him. Ino burst into tears, as Hinata dishearteningly leaned against Naruto for support. Neji held Tenten's hand tightly as chaos erupted around them.

Kiba screamed in frustration, pounding his fist his fist against the wall until his skin turned raw.

Shikamaru?

He simply stood there in the middle of all the chaos. He had miscalculated everything, he had been wrong...

_Sakura…_

_._

* * *

_._

Sakura sadly smiled to herself as her plane finally landed, in a place far away from Mist.

She closed her eyes, as memories of the times she had spent with her best friends coursed through her head. A tear silently rolled down her cheek, as she gently brushed it aside with her sleeve. It wasn't the right moment for her to start crying now- she would have plenty of time for it later, in the privacy of her own new home.

Her green eyes widened in surprise as someone handed her a bag from the overhead compartment. "Is this yours?" The handsome boy asked, looking almost too pretty to be a male. She mutely nodded, not knowing how to thank him. "If you need any help, just let me know. I'm Haku, by the way."

He smiled brightly at her- a nice, genuine smile.

"Thanks Haku, my name is Sakura."

Maybe a new beginning wasn't going to be that bad after all.

**.**

* * *

**.**

**THREE YEARS LATER**

* * *

Several heads turned as a beautiful pink haired girl stepped out of the airport, her big apple green eyes shining as she slowly observed the place she hadn't seen in so long.

She was taller than she had been three years ago; her body was far more slender, accentuating her long legs. Her once long, beautiful pink locks were now cropped up to her shoulders, giving her a much more mature look as she no longer resembled the little girl who used to stumble around. Her movements were graceful and elegant as she caught a cab, receiving a few more stares as she lifted up her heavy suitcase with ease.

She took a deep breath, taking in as much of her surroundings as she could. A soft smile graced her lips, as she took one last look at the sky.

"I'm back Mist." She whispered, her voice no longer rough and shrill.

"I'm back home."

.

* * *

.

"Dinner tonight is going to be troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, running a hand through his loose hair. Ever since he had married his nagging girlfriend, she had always insisted he let his hair down for certain events. He couldn't really complain- he had no chances of winning an argument against her.

"You know today is an important day." Ino scolded her husband, flipping her silky hair back. "This is the only day we all get together to have dinner during the year. You should show more consideration towards making dinner!" She busied herself around the kitchen, momentarily pausing as they brushed shoulders. "Did you get taller again, Shika-kun?" She asked him, using her hand to measure the distance in height between them. He shrugged, helping her reach for a plate in one of the top cabinets.

"It's great that Sasuke lets us use his house," Shikamaru said, taking a look around the vast kitchen. "But it really is troublesome for anyone else to work around all of this. It's like everything is adjusted for only him to use." He sighed as Ino tried to reach for another plate. "Speak of the devil," He muttered under his breath as the subject of their conversation entered the room.

"Hey Sasuke-kun!" Ino chirped, as the said man quietly took a seat by the kitchen counter. His raven locks were longer than usual- due to the length, his hair had lost some of its spiky volume, his bangs casting a shadow over his haunting onyx eyes. His shoulders were broader and his body was fitter- but he was always the same Sasuke he had always been. "Thanks for letting us use the house again, I know we must be a pain in the ass to deal with."

"I wish they felt the same way." Sasuke said dryly, jabbing a finger towards the direction of the living room. A much more mature Neji sat on the couch- his chocolate brown hair was even longer now, as he refused to ever cut it. It was tied into a loose ponytail, which swept down his broad back. He was deep in conversation with Tenten, whose two buns had turned into two long braids over time. She gave him a warm smile as she tightly grasped his hand in her own.

Across from the couple, Naruto let out a loud roar of laughter, his childish features now almost entirely gone. His sapphire blue eyes still sparkled when his face split into his trademark grin- but he was no longer the puny little boy who used to follow Sasuke around. He had grown taller, his lively blond locks wildly spiking out into all directions. His mature face showed off the handsome features he had been hiding under his childish grin.

Hinata sat by his side, softly giggling at his enthusiastic words. Her hair was silky and smooth as always, cascading down her waist as she gently touched Naruto's arm. Her lavender eyes were full of nothing but love as she admiringly stared at the blond boy sitting next to her. She was taller now, and much more elegant with her gestures than she had been three years ago. Her stutter had long disappeared- yet her timid persona was still there. Despite her growth, her face still held the innocent glow she had always carried around with her.

"I hope we're not too late for the party!" An excited voice roared, as the front door slammed open. A cheerful looking Deidara marched in, holding a cake in his hands as he waved at the other occupants of the room. His blond hair was long as always, but instead of keeping it in his usual half ponytail, he let it flow down his back. He was followed by a very unenthusiastic Sasori, who remained shorter than the rest as always, maintaining his usual appearance. Kisame trailed in last, being the same blue Fish-chan Sakura had always known.

"I hope you guys are ready for an amazing dinner." Ino said with a wink, as she took the cake from Deidara.

"Definitely!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, earning a couple of laughs from the others.

"Alright girls, I'm going to need your help in the kitchen." Ino said with a nod, as Hinata and Tenten both got up from their seats to follow the blonde into the kitchen. The boys all gathered around the dining table, ready to discuss among themselves.

Kiba cast a look towards the kitchen to make sure the door was closed before he spoke. "So how's it going between you and Ino?" He asked, winking suggestively towards his best friend. He had the same shade of chocolate brown hair and his dashing grin was always present- but that was about it. All traces of the teenage boy had been replaced by a charming, mature man. It was unfortunate, Shikamaru thought, that he hadn't mentally matured at all.

Shikamaru sighed tiredly. "It's only been two months since we've been married and she's already being troublesome." His face morphed into a smirk. "But she wouldn't be Ino if she wasn't." The other boys enthusiastically nodded in agreement. The genius' gaze shifted over to the blonde sitting next to him. "But enough about me. What's going on between you and Hinata?" Neji slightly paled at hearing his cousin's name. "Getting married anytime soon?" Shikamaru added.

"Soon, soon." Naruto said with a large grin. "Her father finally approved of our engagement!" A couple of the guys clapped his back, congratulating him.

"Oh great, just what the world needs." Kiba said with a groan. "More Hyuuga and Uzumaki brats."

Neji choked on the wine he was sipping, proceeding to shoot Kiba a death glare when his coughs finally died down.

"Don't act so innocent." Kiba snorted. "It's not like you're not gonna make Hyuuga babies soon either." At this, Neji's face burned bright red. "I bet they're already organizing a wedding behind our backs or something."

"To keep out nosy idiots like you." Neji retorted back, his white eyes narrowing down threateningly. "Instead of concentrating in other people's relationships, why don't you go find yourself a girl? It's been ages since you had a girlfriend, I'm beginning to think you're gay."

Kiba shot him an indignant look. "I'm not _gay_." He sneered. "For your information, I met a girl at the pet store the other day. She was super hot and absolutely _loved_ Akamaru! She gave me her number too. I was thinking of giving her a call to invite her out to a date later this week." He flashed them a triumphant grin.

"She must be insane to love that huge beast of yours." Sasuke muttered, referring to the enormous white dog Kiba always kept by his side.

Kiba's next snapped around to glare at the Uchiha. "What is this, 'Let's Attack Kiba' day? Plus, you're probably just jealous because you're the only one who hasn't gotten any ever since Sakura-chan left."

And awkward silence surrounded them. Sasuke's chair loudly scraped across the wooden floor as he stood up, his face unreadable. "I'm going to go see if the girls need any help in the kitchen." Sasuke muttered, quickly leaving the room. Everyone's glare turned towards Kiba, who was busy looking guiltily out the window.

"You idiot!" Naruto hissed, looking furious. "You know better than to bring up the S-word in front of Sasuke-teme! And you know he won't date any other girl until Sakura-chan comes back!"

"_If _she ever comes back." Kiba muttered under his breath.

Deidara sighed, looking extremely bored as he glared at the rest of the men. "Seriously, how dumb can you guys get?" He spoke up for the first time, earning a couple of nasty stares. "I mean, you guys organize a dinner every year on the day Sakura-chan left to honor her or whatever, and you don't even bother saying her name. Stop being little kids and grow up."

"If you really thought this whole thing was stupid, you wouldn't come every year." Shikamaru pointed out. Deidara scowled, nudging his two partners, asking them to come to his defense. Kisame and Sasori both did not budge. When he saw that his friends were not going to help him out, he gave up.

Kiba and Naruto were about to get into another heated argument about ramen, when the doorbell rang. The occupants of the room all turned to look at the door, startled at the sudden interruption. "Is anyone missing?" Ino curiously asked, poking her head out the door to count heads. When she saw that everyone was present, she turned her questioning glance towards Sasuke, who looked equally as confused. "Are you expecting someone?" She asked him. He shook his head in response.

"Maybe it's the neighbors." Neji suggested. "Naruto and Kiba are being awfully loud."

Naruto shot him a dirty look. "Well maybe it's your freaking hair stylist here to remind you that you forgot your weekly appointment." He dryly answered, taking a jab at Neji's soft, feminine- hair. He got up from his seat, heading towards the front door. "Who is it?" He curiously called out.

"It's me." A soft voice answered.

Naruto shot an accusing gaze towards Sasuke. "Have you been dating someone without telling me?" He asked, looking slightly hurt.

"Stop being stupid, dobe." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it's Ayame? You know how she's been obsessed with you for the past three years," Naruto suggest again, and Sasuke shook his head, staring intently at the door. His face was unreadable, as he took a few, slow steps towards forward. His hand ghosted over the metal handle, as he slightly hesitated.

Everything in the room seemed to move in slow motion as he slowly opened the door.

"Sa...Sakura-chan?"

Naruto was the first to speak, as his jaw dropped open. There was a loud _clang_ as the pan Ino was holding in her hands abruptly dropped to the floor.

Worried at the sudden silence, Hinata poked her head out behind Ino. She let out a small gasp as her lavender eyes fell upon the pink haired girl standing at the doorway with a warm, nostalgic smile gracing her face.

"It's... it's been a long time, guys."

Kiba was the first to move, tackling her into a tight hug as he launched himself onto her. She let out a light laugh as she struggled to breath- for a second, Sasuke thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard in his life.

"... You're choking her, idiot." Shikamaru quietly said, as he stoop up from his seat. "She won't be back for long if you keep on strangling her like that." He took a few steps forward, until he was standing in front of the petite girl. "Sakura." He gave her a short nod- it didn't seem like much, but it was enough for her to know that he was truly glad. Kiba immediately let go of her, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry Sakura-chan." He immediately apologized, giving her a soft smile. He was shoved out of the way when Naruto pushed through him, giving the girl another breathtaking hug. The others began to circle around her, each taking their turns to properly greet her. She was overwhelmed with hugs, handshakes, and tears as everyone surrounded her.

She smiled when she saw Neji and Tenten, and burst into laughter when Kisame immediately greeted her with an insult. The softness in his eyes told her that he had missed her after all, despite all of his nasty remarks. Sasori was quiet as always, but an uncharacteristic smile graced his lips as he shook hands with Sakura.

When they were all finished talking to her, one by one, they each pulled back, looking towards the only person who hadn't greeted her yet.

Sasuke stood at the very back, his onyx eyes unreadable as he stared at the very girl who had broken his heart three years ago. Slowly, he took a couple of steps forward until he was standing right in front of her, looking down at her shorter figure. She hesitantly looked back with wide emerald green orbs, looking for some kind of emotion in his eyes.

Was it anger? Disappointment? Hatred?

He didn't give her enough time to think of anything else before he bent his head down and kissed her on the lips.

As his lips crashed down onto hers, she briefly noticed that he had grown. He had always been taller than her, but judging by the way she had to strain her neck to kiss him back, he had definitely grown a couple of centimeters. He kissed her fiercely- so fiercely that she could almost feel all the emotions he had suffered during these three years without her.

His eyes were closed- he was desperately wishing that this wasn't a dream. He had dreamed of her return numerous times, dreamed of kissing her as he was doing now- only to wake up alone to a dark room, drenched in his own cold sweat and the realization that she was not by his side.

Was this really the cold man she had fallen in love with years ago?

She was momentarily speechless as they parted for air.

"Sa...Sasuke." She breathed, her pinks slightly pink.

"What took you so long?" He murmured, breathing heavily as he leaned his forehead onto hers. "I was waiting for you."

She swallowed the lump that was in her throat, and blinked back tears as she spoke once again. "I finished university." It was all she could say, her words coming out shakily as she tried to gather her composure. It was all too much- seeing Sasuke like this.

"Are you going to stay?" He asked her huskily. Without giving her a chance to answer, he spoke again. "Please stay." He whispered.

"Please don't break my heart again."

Her eyes widened at his words, and she could no longer contain her emotions as her tears finally spilled over. A broken smile graced her face lips as she let them brush against his once more. She sighed, her emotions creating a whirlwind inside her chest as she leaned in to embrace him.

"Sasuke, you idiot." She whispered. "You're the one who broke _my_ heart."

He protectively wrapped his muscular arms around her delicate figure as he pulled her closer. "I cancelled the wedding as soon as you left." He breathed into her ear, watching in wonder as another smile flickered across her face. "I haven't been with anyone else since. I've been waiting for you all this time."

"I'm glad," She mumbled, and he pulled back to give her one of his trademark smirks.

"My father wants to meet you." He told her. Her eyes widened in surprise at the weight of his words. He chuckled at her bewildered expression. "As soon as I cancelled the wedding, he asked me to introduce you to him whenever you would come back."

She let out a jovial laugh. "I was so scared," She whispered, her smile vanishing as a tense look crossed her face. "I was so afraid that you had moved on."

"No one will ever be as annoying as you are, Sakura."

"Now if you two are being finished being all lovey-dovey with each other, I'd like to spend some time with my best friend as well." Deidara interrupted, looking slightly annoying. His face softened as the pink haired girl let out a giggle. To Sasuke's irritation, she detached herself from the Uchiha before launching herself onto her best friend. The older blonde slightly chuckled at the annoyed look Sasuke was giving him. "Chill buddy," He whispered to the fuming raven haired man. "Playing the role of the jealous boyfriend already?"

Sasuke vehemently tried to ignore his words as he slightly blushed. He turned away, a small smile plastered onto his face as he felt the pieces of his life finally falling into place.

He would propose to her that night.

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**EPILOGUE**

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****Uzumaki Naruto has finally earned Hyuuga Hiashi's approval, and Hyuuga Hinata is now Uzumaki Hinata. They are expecting a new addition to their family soon, a baby boy. Naruto is the proud owner of an extremely popular chain of ramen restaurants, while Hinata is currently taking a maternity leave from her job at the elementary school near their home.

The Hyuuga family is now expecting another new member- Neji and Tenten have officially announced their engagement. They are going to get married soon, but have wasted no time in moving in together. Hinata has decided to pass on her position as Head of the Hyuuga clan to Neji, breaking the tension between the Main House and Branch House. He works hard every day, while Tenten has become a martial arts teacher for young, aspiring children.

Nara Shikamaru is currently working as a professor in one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. He has been married to Yamanaka Ino for a long time now, and despite their little argumements, they are a happy family. Ino has taken over her family's flower shop, waiting for a baby girl to be born.

Gai has now made the Blooming Lotus into a chain around Japan. Lee has followed his teacher's footsteps and (much to Sasuke's annoyance) still hasn't given up on winning Sakura's heart.

Good old Kakashi-sensei is running his business with new workers, and despite his busy schedule he still often drops in to see his favorite pupils.

Haruno Sakura finally quit the Akatsuki for good, deciding to settle down into a normal life. Of course, she is still close to her best friends- she still hangs out with Deidara, Sasori and Kisame, and occasionally sees Kakuzu, Hidan and Tobi. She doesn't see Itachi as much as she sees the others, but over time she has realized that he is a man of many secrets, and he is not as bad as she first thought he was.

And Sakura and Sasuke's relationship?

Uchiha Sasuke finally proposed to Sakura on the night she returned to Mist. She accepted, and they have been happily married for a couple of years. She is now known as Uchiha Sakura.

For the first time in her life, she feels like everything is going right.

Inside the second drawer of her desk, she keeps a small photo album which preserves all of her precious memories. As time passes by, she adds on to the snapshots of her friends because on a nostalgic rainy day, she'll have picture-perfect moments for her to remember.

Every night, before she turns off the lights and goes to sleep, she observes one particular picture that is far more special than the others. It was one taken many years ago, when she was a mere teenager- it is a picture of the summer in Konohagakure, which brought all of them together. All her friends are in it- including the very man she fell in love with.

In the picture, she is glaring at Sasuke, who is doing the same to her. It was taken during their first month, before they got to know each other better- when they still despised each other. Although people may think that it is bizarre to keep an old picture in which her reciprocated hatred for Sasuke is obvious, she treasures it more than anything else.

Because after all, it is the symbol of the start of the progression of a very complicated, tragic, _perfect_ relationship.

It reminds her of how young they were when they first fell in love-

It reminds her of how Haruno Sakura found her happy ending with Uchiha Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.

They were once upon a time in love.


	20. First Words

**Sweet Summer Slumber**

**stfuSPARKS**

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**Prize for XweaponsXmistressX! **

**Disclaimer: Plot of this chapter belongs to XweaponsXmistressX**

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**BONUS CHAPTER**

**First Words**

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****"Sakura! Sanosuke's crying again? How do you shut him up?"

It had been approximately two years since Sakura and Sasuke had been married, and one year since they had their first child, Uchiha Sanosuke.

As everyone had expected, Sanosuke turned out to be a handsome baby, inheriting favorable traits from both his mother and father. His hair was a lovely shade of dark raven just like his father's- except maybe it was a little bit flatter. His eyes were a startling shade of bright emerald green, much like his mother's. He was still one years old, but he already showed promising signs of growing into a handsome young man.

Sasuke had inherited the Uchiha family's main house after his father passed away in peace- and they had been living as a happy family in the large mansion. But unfortunately, much to Sasuke and Sakura's chagrin, peace at home did not last very long.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Sakura, your son is making me deaf!"

"Uchiha Sasuke, you know very well that Sanosuke is your as as well!" A very tired looking Sakura walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on the dirty apron around her waist. "You should learn to take proper care of your own child," She angrily scolded him, tying her pink locks into a messy bun. Her green eyes locked onto her husband, who was hovering over a crib that was violently rocking back and forth.

"Sakura, I think he inherited your monstrous strength." Sasuke said with a wince, trying to reach his arms towards the wailing child. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he leaned back, pleadingly looking at his wife. Sakura finally gave up with a sigh, taking her apron off as she walked over to their child.

"You have no common sense when it comes to children." She shook her head, leaving him to scowl at her as she reached for the baby. As soon as the child was in his mother's arms, his cried almost immediately quieted down into quiet whimpers. "There, there, Sanosuke." She cooed, rocking the baby back and forth. Sanosuke sleepily closed his emerald eyes and started to breath evenly as he fell into a deep sleep. She turned to give Sasuke an accusing glare. "We're having guests for dinner tonight Sasuke, and I'm going to be busy cooking. You better take care of Sanosuke yourself."

"It's not my fault he never shuts up when I try to calm him down." Sasuke argued back.

She simply rolled her eyes in response. "Sasuke, you can't _glare_ at Sanosuke when you're trying to comfort him." She told him exasperatedly. "You're obviously going to scare him with that scary expression on your face. You have to make a sweet face!"

"Sweet face?" He repeated, looking slightly confused.

She nodded, gently placing Sanosuke back into the crib. "Like this," She told him, and her frowning face was immediately replaced with a beautiful smile that reminded Sasuke of why he had fallen in love with her in the first place. He immediately snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into a short, chaste kiss. She let out a squeak of surprise at his sudden actions.

"Sorry," He shamelessly apologized with a smug smirk. "I guess your sweet face works magic on me as well." She blushed at his words, a lovely pink hue overcoming her cheeks.

"Screw you, Uchiha Sasuke." She muttered in an embarrassed tone, as she put her apron back on.

"I'd love to, Uchiha Sakura." Sasuke murmured suggestively. "Care to help me restore more of the Uchiha clan?"

"Pervert!" She squeaked out, shoving him away. He let out a low chuckle and followed her into the kitchen.

"Who's coming over for dinner?" He asked, hovering over a pot of delicious curry.

"The usual." Sakura replied with a sigh. "Shikamaru and Ino, Naruto and Hinata, Neji and Tenten..." She stirred the soup, thinking some more. "Oh yeah, the Sand siblings are coming in two days as well. We're going to be having another group dinner but I was hoping we could go to a restaurant instead. All this cooking is _killing_ me- Naruto's appetite ismonstrous!" She complained, shaking her head.

"I don't remember giving you the permission to have Hyuuga over." Sasuke muttered under his breath, looking displeased. Ever since their young days at Konohagakure, Sasuke had never quite gotten over the fact that Sakura and Neji had briefly been semi-together. Though he would never admit it out loud, sometimes he was jealous of the relationship they used to have.

"Are you _still_ scared that I might be having a secret relationship with Neji?" Sakura asked, rolling her eyes. "Kami-sama Sasuke, that was what... over five years ago?" Sasuke sulked, deciding not to answer her. Unfortunately, this only ignited her fury. "And _you're_ the one to talk!" She exclaimed, waving a spatula at him. "You almost to another girl!"

"You always say that, even if you know perfectly well that it was an arranged marriage." He grunted, looking annoyed.

She smiled at him, letting out a small giggle at his expression. "I know, I know, I was just teasing you." She said, lightly patting him on the back. "I'm glad you saw I was worth it." She smirked at him. He loved it when she smirked- there was something so incredibly sexy about the way the corners of her lips slightly quirked upwards... he was about to kiss her again when the doorbell rang.

"Damnit." He cursed, pulling back as he glared at the front door. "Isn't it too early for dinner?"

To his confusion, Sakura's face brightened up. "Oh, that must be the others!" She chirped, happily.

"The others?"

He didn't receive an answer as she floated towards door. He sighed as he returned to the living room, sullenly throwing himself onto the couch as he listened to the new voices that filled the hallways.

"You've changed a bit." A familiar gruff voice said.

"Well no shit Sherlock, the last time we saw her, she was nine months pregnant. That tends to change people."

"Deidara, you're being loud."

"Aw, shut up Sasori-danna! I finally have chance to insult Sharkie over here, but nooooo, you have to ruin it all!"

"Sh, Sanosuke's sleeping!" Sakura quiet voice interrupted their fight.

Sasuke inwardly groaned. Just what he needed- the Akatsuki boys. Or the Three Stooges, as Naruto liked to call them.

"Oi Uchiha Junior, long time no see!" The boisterous blonde greeted, marching through the door. "I haven't seen you in a year- I was kinda hoping you and Sakura-chan would have divorced by now, but I guess I'll have to wait a little longer for that."

The raven haired boy pointedly ignored Deidara's words. Sasuke had spent a lot of time in the blonde's company after getting married to Sakura- enough for him to learn that the best way to deal with Deidara's taunting was to ignore him. Sasuke briefly wondered when Deidara was going to cut his hair, before looking out the window.

Kisame and Sasori followed in after him, both looking extremely disgruntled at their partner. "Good to see you Uchiha." Sasori politely greeted. Sasuke nodded back- at least Sasori was someone he could stand.

"Sakura, as this scum been treating you right?" Kisame suspiciously asked, sending Sasuke a threatening glance.

"Yes, yes, he's been treating me fine." Sakura answered him with a sigh. "Plus, if he didn't, I would have kicked his ass myself. I may be a mother and a wife but I can still take perfectly good care of myself." She pushed Kisame away from Sasuke so they would stop glaring at each other. "And for the tenth time, lower your voice, Sanosuke is sleeping in the other room!"

"Oh, I haven't seen him yet!" Deidara exclaimed giddily. "Can I see the brat?"

A vein throbbed on Sakura's forehead as she smacked him in the head, sending him crashing to the floor.

"He's not a brat," She told him in an irritated tone. "And you better be quiet if you want to see him." She motioned for him to follow her as she led him towards Sanosuke's crib. She peeked in to check up on him-

But he wasn't there.

Sakura loudly groaned.

"Sasuke, Sanosuke's left the crib _again_!" She rubbed her temples in frustration. "Sanosuke-chan tends do to that alot. He must take after Sasuke in stealth- I never notice him sneak out of his crib." She explained distractedly.

"Not again." Sasuke grumbled, walking over to inspect the empty crib. "You go check the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, I'll search the rest." He told Sakura, and within a second, they both disappeared.

The three Akatsuki members looked at each other in confusion.

A sudden gurgling sound came from behind the couch, drawing their attention. All three of them whirled around to face the adorable yet dangerous offspring of the Uchiha and Sakura. Sanosuke crawled on all fours, gurgling again as he inched forwards. Deidara let out a very unmanly squeal of delight, running towards the baby boy.

"Oh my god, he's adorable!" Deidara exclaimed in a high pitch, as Kisame and Sasori shot each other disturbed looks at the blonde's strange antics. "You totally have your mother's eyes! And your daddy's hair!"

Sanosuke could only give him a toothy grin in response to Deidara's incessant babbling. "That short guy over there is Sasori." Deidara told the baby, pointing at the redhead. "Just hope you grow to be taller them him when you'll be a man." A vein slightly throbbed on Sasori's forehead. "And that big scary man over there is Kisama, also known as Tuna-sama to your mother!"

The baby looked up in delight at the blue-skinned man, who clearly was uncomfortable upon having Sanosuke's attention.

"Hey Fish-chan, I think he likes you!" Deidara exclaimed in delight, and consequently, Sanosuke clapped his hands together a couple of times. Deidara ruffled the boy's raven hair, as Sanosuke beamed up at him. "Well at least you don't scare him! I thought he'd cry at the sight of you. Or maybe he's just hungry and he thinks you're food?"

"Go eat shit Deidara." Kisame grumbled, turning away.

"…eat…shit!"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Deidara froze, as Kisame slowly turned around to face the baby again.

"Was that…"

"Sanosuke?"

Sakura chose that moment to come rushing back in, followed by a breathless Sasuke. She let out a sigh of relief as she spotted her son sitting on the floor, sitting in front of Deidara. "Oh thank god you guys found him! I was actually starting to get worried." She gave them a thankful smile, reaching out towards Sanosuke.

"Eat shit!" The baby cried out excitedly.

There was another moment of silence.

Sasuke was painfully quiet. "Did Sanosuke... just..." Sakura spluttered, unable to find the right words.

"Eat shit!" The baby exclaimed again.

"…"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY POOR BABY?" Sakura cried out in desperation, grabbing Sanosuke away from Deidara. "Why is my son saying such foul words?"

Deidara guiltily scratched the back of his head. "Eh... Sakura-chan, calm down." Deidara tried to soothe her down. He shot an anxious look towards Sasuke- it was never a good sign when the Uchiha was quiet for a long period of time. "It wasn't me!" Deidara immediately shrieked, hiding behind Sasori. "I just said something to Kisame, and he told me to go eat shit!"

Kisame's eyes widened as the blame was shifted to him. "No wait, it's all a misunderstanding." The blue skinned man anxiously answered, raising two hands in front of him. The look in Sakura's eyes was screamed 'murder'- and Kisame happened to value his life.

Kisame almost cried tears of joy when the doorbell rang again.

"I'll deal with you later." Sakura threatened, stalking towards the front door.

"Good evening everyone!" An energetic voice chirped. Everyone turned around to stare at Naruto, who entered with Hinata right behind him. Hinata squeaked in surprise at seeing the three Akatsuki members, as Naruto comfortingly squeezed her hand. "We brought Nina-chan along, I was hoping she could play with Sanosuke-kun!"

"Hey Nina-chan!" Sakura cooed, crouching down so she was at eye-level with the two year old girl. Uzumaki Nina had bright blond hair, similar to her father's, except a tad bit darker in color. Her eyes were an enthralling shade of lavender, just like every other person with Hyuuga blood in them.

"Say hi Nina-chan." Hinata whispered reassuringly to the timid little girl. Nina nervously peeked at Sakura from behind her mother's legs.

"She just learned to walk about a month ago!" Naruto beamed, ruffling his daughter's hair. "She might seem shy like Hinata-chan at first, but she's a monster with people she's familiar with. She doesn't talk though- she only uses physical gestures."

Hinata looked slightly worried. "I think she's a bit too shy to talk." She admitted, looking down at her daughter. "I didn't say my first word until I was three years old."

"Three years old?" Deidara asked incredulously. "I was blabbering my heart out at that age!" Sakura hit him over the head.

"That's because your purpose in life seems to be to annoy everyone around you." Sakura dryly told him.

Naruto immediately felt the tension in the room. "So has Sanosuke-kun said his first word yet?" He enthusiastically asked, hoping to lighten up the mood. "I bet he won't take much longer- after all, both of his parents are super smart!" The tension in the room skyrocketed.

"He just said his first words right now." Sakura mechanically admitted, as Naruto nervously looked back and forth between the fuming Sasuke and the cowering Deidara.

"What did he say?" Hinata asked with a warm smile.

"Eat shit." Sakura whispered in a mortified tone. Another awkward silence filled the room.

"Oh dear," Hinata covered her mouth with her hand.

"Where did the kid learn _that_?" Naruto asked incredulously. Sakura shot a death glare towards Kisame, which pretty much cleared things up for the other couople. Kisame decided that right now was decisively a good time to change the subject.

"So how's your sexual intercourse?" He blurted out the first thing that popped into his mind. He mentally slapped himself in the face. Was the best he could come up with? Hinata slightly swayed on her spot as she looked like she was about to faint, which further aggravated Naruto.

"That's none of your business!" Naruto snapped back, as Kisame tried to shrug it off. "Pervert fish." Naruto muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hey I was just asking," Kisame said. "It's not like sexual intercourse is a thing to be ashamed of."

"Se-xual… inter-course!" A small voice pronounced the syllables carefully.

Everyone in the room froze.

"You must be kidding me." Naruto groaned, as Nina beamed, looking quite proud of herself.

"Se-xual in-ter-course!" The girls pronounced the syllables again, her wide lavender eyes looking up towards her father, looking for praise.

"Surprises me how such a young kid can say that word so well." Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"She _is_ Hinata's daughter after all," Sakura forced a laugh to break the tension. "Hinata was always a very smart girl."

The said girl fell to the ground with a thud.

"Oh I knew she was going to faint again," Sasuke muttered, rubbing his temples. "What a disastrous dinner."

"Hey Sakura, the door was open so we decided to come in anyways- whoah what's going on in here?"

As if the situation couldn't get any worse for Sakura, the owner of the familiar obnoxious voice of her female best friend barged in, followed by her lazy husband carrying a young two year old brown haired toddler in his arms.

"Naruto, will you please lift Hinata onto the couch?" Sakura said irritably, and the blonde immediately complied. "I'm sorry for the mess Ino, please do come in."

"Okay," Ino said cautiously, looking around. Naruto gave Kisame a look that clearly said that this was not over. Kisame was dreading the moment he would be left alone with both Naruto and Sasuke. The blue-skinned man had never felt so intimidated before.

"Hello Shikamaru," Sakura greeted tiredly, as the little girl in his arms slowly awakened. "Hello Gemma-chan! Did you have a nice nap?"

Their little two and a half year old girl was the oldest between their circle of friends, seeing that Shikamaru and Ino had been the first couple to get married. Gemma had rebellious light brown hair, a clear mixture between her father's dark brown and her mother's blonde. She had Ino's clear blue eyes which stared up innocently at Sakura as she blinked a couple of times.

The girl yawned as Shikamaru set her onto the floor. She gurgled an agreeing sound as she walked over to Nina.

"Has your daughter learned her first word yet Shikamaru?" Sakura asked curiously, as the two babies simply giggled together.

"No not yet." Shikamaru answered truthfully, taking off his jacket. "Although Ino is trying to get her to say 'mama' before 'papa'. Her and her troublesome rivalry…" He shook his head, looking exasperated.

"I expected your daughter to already have learned her first word," Sakura said in surprise. "She is your daughter after all,"

"And probably lazy as he is," Ino interjected, scowling at her husband who only sighed in irritation.

The doorbell rang one more time.

"Oh that must be Neji and Tenten," Sakura said, glad for the distraction. "I'll be right back guys."

While Sakura walked over towards the door, the two little girls had taken a liking to Sasori and his long cloak. The man tensed up, not being extremely comfortable around children- and when the girls pulled the cloak up to hide inside, he was showing clear signs of irritation.

When Naruto's daughter, Nina, finally ripped off the end of his cloak, his patience flew out the window. "DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" He snapped loudly, snatching the tail of his cloak away from the girls' hands. Nina started to cry, while Gemma stared up at him in wonder, looking extremely curious.

"Damn you all to hell." The little girl calmly said, with perfect pronunciation. Ino gasped and Shikamaru eyebrow skyrocketed into his hairline.

"Shika-kun… that was… Gemma's ... oh god!" Ino shrieked and grabbed Gemma away from Sasori, as if he was contagious. "What have you done to my baby?"

"I didn't mean to-" Sasori tried to explain but Ino wouldn't give him the chance.

"It's all your fault!" Ino hysterically screamed. "You're the one who taught this to my baby!"

"Listen woman, for the last time, I did not do it on purpose!" Sasori said angrily, but Shikamaru interrupted him.

"Oi you, I suggest you don't talk to my wife like that." His tone was careless and lazy, but there was a threat lacing his words. Sasori just mumbled to himself.

"Here we are!" Tenten exclaimed, waltzing into the living room. "Oh wow Sakura, I love your house! It's really wonderful!"

Neji walked in next, a little dark haired boy marching right next to him proudly. He stumbled a couple of times, but immediately regained his pace, straining to keep up with his father.

"Reno-kun just barely learned to walk, you'll have to excuse his continuous stumbling," Tenten said lightly, and smiled proudly at her kid.

Reno was a handsome two year old boy, with long dark hair just like Neji's which reached down past his shoulders. He had extremely pale light brown eyes, so pale it almost seemed a mixture of brown and white. He held a high posture, much like his father and wore the confident look Tenten always seemed to have.

"Hello there Reno-kun," Sakura greeted, crouching down to meet his gaze. He did not wave or say hello back; rather, his strange eyes held an appreciative look.

"He's a looker," Deidara said, observing him carefully. "I bet he'll be surrounded by girls when he's older."

"You've all grown so much!" Tenten exclaimed, looking at the other three children in the room. "Have I missed anything?"

Almost at once, the three kids burst out together.

"Eat shit!" Sanosuke exclaimed.

"Se-xual-in-ter-course," Nina carefully pronounced.

"Damn you all to hell," Gemma almost lazily said.

Neji and Tenten exchanged bewildered looks.

"Oh god." Sakura slapped her forehead.

"That was all Kisame's fault," Deidara explained to the baffled couple. "He didn't watch his language in front of his kids and he let the words slip out. He's such a twat!"

"TWAT!" Reno exclaimed gleefully right after hearing the word. Tenten nearly hyperventilated.

"No Reno, bad Reno!" She exclaimed, waving her arms in front of his face. "That's a bad, bad word!"

Neji glared at Deidara, before marching up to him and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Who do you think you are, teaching my son such vulgar words?" Neji asked threateningly. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who he is? I am Hyuuga Neji and he is the future leader of the Hyuuga's main house!"

"Sasori… Deidara… Kisame…" Sakura growled, glaring at them.

Oh crap, now they were going to get it.

"Do you have any idea how much time I spent organizing this important dinner?" She asked, veins popping on her forehead. "And do you have any idea that you have ruined it _all_ in less than ten minutes?"

The rest of the parents glared back at them, while the kids innocently stood aside and watched, wondering why in the world their three uncles were so scared.

Oh yes, the three were in for a _long _night.

**-Peep at the Future-**

A handsome raven haired boy entered his house later, looking like he was in his mid-teens. He closed the door quietly behind him, smiling as he entered the kitchen to find his mother busy cooking snack for him.

"Oh Sanosuke-kun, welcome back home!" She exclaimed cheerfully, setting the spoon in her hand aside.

"Good afternoon, okaa-san," Sanosuke politely said, his green eyes staring hungrily at the tomato soup his mother was making.

"How was school today?" She asked him, continuing to prepare his favorite snack.

"Oh we have a new project," Sanosuke said, his face brightening up.

"Oh? And what is that" Sakura asked her son.

"We have to write an essay about how we learned our first words. We were told to ask our parents about that." Sanosuke said eagerly.

Sakura froze.

"Oh honey, I don't think that's necessary…" Sakura trailed off.

"But mom, it's for a school project!" Sanosuke insisted stubbornly.

"Your first words were 'eat shit'. Deal with it." A gruff voice said from the hallway and Sasuke appeared, looking quite tired from work.

"Oh welcome back Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, her face burning bright red in embarrassment while Sanosuke simply looked shocked.

His face suddenly split into a wide grin.

"Oh, just wait 'till I tell my friends!"

He was indeed their son.


End file.
